Objective
The general objectives of the proposed research are
(1) to understand mechanisms underlying plant tolerance to heavy metals (HMs) and;
(2) to restore the fertility of HM polluted soils.
The research will be concerned mainly with the study and detailed characterization of a newly isolated chemically induced mutant of garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) with increased tolerance to and uptake of cadmium (Cd). Genetic analysis of the mutant, including the mapping of the gene(s) mutated with the use of morphological and molecular markers and grafting experiments, will allow identifying the genetic determinants underlying the plant mutant phenotype, to localize the gene(s) of interest on pea genetic map. A detailed characterization of Cd tolerance of the mutant by its growth parameters, accumulation and transport of Cd and other HMs, and uptake of nutrients will be performed. The physiological and biochemical mechanisms of metal tolerance presented in the mutant, effects of Cd on the expression of genes related to stress responses and defense reactions, and the activity of enzyme systems and production of molecules involved in Cd tolerance of the mutant will be studied. Particular attention will be given to the investigation of interactions between the mutant and symbiotic microbes such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria and endomycorrhizal fungi in the absence and in the presence of toxic Cd. For this purpose, a Cd-tolerant strain of symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae containing synthetic pseudophytochelatin gene will be constructed.
The aim of this work is to create efficient plant-microbe associations based on genetically modified plants and microbes with increased metal tolerance and metal uptake. Morphological changes in plant tissues and symbiotic structures caused by Cd toxicity will be characterized using light and electron microscopy. A major milestone is envisaged by using the mutant for breeding new pea varieties characterized by high biomass production and increased tolerance to and uptake of Cd, which is considered as promising model for introducing legumes to HM-polluted soils. The outcome is expected to give a comprehensive description of the unique plant mutant resistant to Cd, to provide new insights into genetic, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of HM tolerance in plants and plant-microbe interactions under stress conditions caused by HM toxicity, and to develop biological systems with high efficiency under stressful environmental conditions caused by HM toxicity, and useful for phytoremediation of polluted soils and restoration of healthy ecosystems.
Call for proposal
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33501 Bielefeld
Germany