Modulation of seed dormancy through the control of non-coding RNA action in response to temperature – RNASEED

Seeds are at the core of agriculture, constituting a major source of food for humans and animals. Climate change is expected to have a dramatic impact on seed germination and seedling emergence as they are tightly controlled by environmental cues. In particular, the temperature regime that prevails during seed formation on the mother plant directly impacts dormancy depth at harvest, which can directly influence population dynamics and productivity of all agrosystems. RNASEED project associates the 3 following partners: Institute of Biology Paris-Seine, Sorbonne Université (P1), Institute of Plant Science Paris Saclay (P2), Jean Pierre Bourgin Institute (P3). We will investigate the effect of temperature regime during Arabidopsis seed development, mostly perceived through the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism and signaling, on resulting seed dormancy. The objective of RNASEED is to determine whether the temperature effect on seed dormancy can be modulated by an under-explored component of the transcriptome, the non-coding RNA (ncRNA)-mediated regulation of gene expression. RNASEED will first take advantage of the numerous preliminary transcriptomic data, available at P1 and P3, obtained within the EU project ECOSEED, that suggest a role for small and antisense RNAs in dormancy regulation. Then we will set-up genetic tools, transcriptomic and translatomic analyses to gain fundamental insights into the mechanisms controlling seed dormancy to uncover a novel molecular network of dormancy regulation integrating small RNA and antisense RNA action. In addition to genetic and reverse-genetic approaches for modulation of regulatory RNAs in transcriptional networks, we will also develop nanoparticle technologies for delivering regulatory RNAs to seeds with the ultimate objective to modulate seed dormancy using new RNA-based tools identified in the study. RNAseed is divided into 4 work-package (WP) combining data mining, experimental approaches and transfer of knowledge to practice. We will decipher the small RNA network that controls responses of developing seeds to temperature by combining data mining of ECOSEED datasets and preparation of small RNA libraries (WP1). The analysis of the designed network will allow identification of candidate small RNAs, antisense RNAs or targets showing potential function in controlling temperature perception by developing seeds (WP2). Candidate regulatory RNAs which will be further validated using CRIPR-cas9 or overexpression and subsequent seed germination phenotyping (WP3). In addition we will also investigate their role in the selective translation that governs seed germination (WP3). Lastly RNASEED also aims to transfer the acquired knowledge to practice and we will try to modulate seed dormancy through the use of nanoparticle, either provided by seed coating or by priming, that will deliver regulator RNAs to the seed. Thus, we expect that RNASEED will make a leap forward in the understanding of the role of non-coding RNA in seed biology and that it will provide novel technological tools to modulate dormancy at the time of sowing