Project description
New insights into hypoxia and immune responses in plants
In mammals, epigenetic mechanisms such as histone demethylation, which play a major role in the response to low oxygen levels (hypoxia) and infection, have recently been identified. Analyses indicate that such responses may also be found in plants. The EU-funded EpiStress project will determine whether major changes to the epigenetic landscape underlie gene expression changes in response to hypoxia and/or immune response in plants as well as the trade-off between the hypoxia and immune programmes. Researchers will explore the potential for barley (Hordeum vulgare) to adapt to climate change using a combination of genetics, hypoxia and pathogen treatments, chromatin immunoprecipitation with next-generation sequencing (ChIP-seq), RNA-seq and bioinformatics to identify a major new pathway of hypoxia and infection response in plants.
Objective
Climate change is a global problem that is drastically changing our planet. Increased precipitation in Northern Europe has caused major crop losses, in part due to the oxygen deprivation experienced by the waterlogged roots. In mammals, epigenetic mechanisms (histone demethylation) have recently been identified that play a major role in the response to low oxygen levels (hypoxia), and response to infection. There are striking similarities between the mammalian and plant responses to hypoxia and infection. My preliminary analyses suggest that the epigenetic mechanisms that control these responses in mammals may be conserved in plants. EpiStress aims to determine if major changes to the epigenetic landscape underlie (i) gene expression changes in response to hypoxia and/or immune response in plants; (ii) the trade-off between the hypoxia and immune programs. These aims will be achieved through three objectives; (i) determining if histone demethylases are novel players in the regulation of hypoxia response in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana; (ii) testing if histone methylation or acetylation changes underlie the trade-off between hypoxia response and immunity; (iii) describing the epigenetic changes that occur in response to hypoxia in barley (Hordeum vulgare) and if these changes can explain corresponding gene expression changes. Fundamental mechanisms will first be established at Maynooth University, Ireland under the supervision of Dr. Emmanuelle Graciet. The potential for crop adaptation to climate change will be explored during a secondment at the state agency Teagasc, Ireland under the supervision of Dr. Ewen Mullins, using barley, Ireland’s most widely grown tillage crop. A combination of genetics, hypoxia and pathogen treatments, chromatin immunoprecipitation with next generation sequencing (ChIP-seq), RNA-seq and bioinformatics will be used throughout this project to identify a major new pathway of hypoxia and infection response in plants.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds cereals
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
W23 Maynooth
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.