Since plants are unable to move from one place to another, they have evolved mechanisms to enhance tolerance to different stresses that involves an array of physiological and biochemical modifications. PLISUS project has a major impact on the scientific understanding of the roles of AtSYT1, AtSYT3 and AtSYT5 in cold and salt tolerance regarding to their biological functions in the endocytic pathway. Therefore, the results of this project will contribute to tackle societal challenges related to environmental change and food security. Specifically, it paves the way for increased efficiency in agricultural production in Europe, and a sustainable bio-based economy, as described in the Europe 2030 flagship initiative "A resource-efficient Europe", by improving the cold and salt tolerance of crops and thus extending its geographical range.
Through this fellowship, the researcher has elevated his scientific career to a higher level of expertise through the opportunity to work with some of the most advanced techniques in this field such as a deep expertise in confocal microscopy, protein-interaction techniques and in lipid-protein interactions which has provided new state-of-the-art techniques for his future independent research career. In addition, because of the innovative aspects of the results, it is expected to publish these findings in two top scientific journals (open-access).
PLISUS also triggered several international collaborations. It is worthy to note a collaboration with one of the world’s leading research groups in the dynamic process of endocytosis at the plasma membrane in plant cells at VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology (Belgium). Finally, these collaborative efforts that has included common grant applications have allowed the transition of the researcher to a senior position at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, Sapin).
