The PHLOWZ project offers an original approach to study the specific response of plants to zinc-deficient soils, leading to phosphate overaccumulation in plant tissues. Understanding the signaling pathway could lead to a better control of the influence of soil composition on plant production.
Phosphate (Pi), a major cell component, is a strategically important plant resource due to the impending shortage of high-quality sources of this element. Diminishing the use of Pi in crop production requires a better understanding of the factors that stimulate Pi uptake. It has been widely observed that plants exposed to Pi and Zinc (Zn) deficiencies accumulate more Pi than when they are in more Zn-rich soils. Current data suggest that a specific signaling pathway is involved in the crosstalk between Pi and Zn homeostasis.
Although some regulators have been identified recently, most of the early players involved in this pathway remain unknown. The PHLOWZ project aims to clarify the early events involved in this crosstalk, using live imaging of changes in Zn and Pi homeostasis and transcriptomics. PHLOWZ will combine these results with reverse genetics to identify new early players and regulatory nodes of the Zn/Pi pathway.
Project in progress
PHLOWZ aims to identify new players and regulatory nodes in Zn/Pi signaling in plants, in a fundamental research perspective. In the longer term, this knowledge will be helpful in opening up new agronomic strategies, to better match the use of fertilizers to the diversity of soil compositions.
- Cho M., Bouain N., Zheng L. & Rouached H. (2021) Plant resilience to phosphate limitation: current knowledge and future challenges, Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 41:1, 63-71, DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1825321
- Sadoine, M., Castro-Rodríguez, V., Poloczek, T., Javot, H., Sunal, E., Wudick, M. M. and Frommer, W. B. (2020). Affinity Purification of GO-Matryoshka Biosensors from E. coli for Quantitative Ratiometric Fluorescence Analyses. Bio-protocol 10(19): e3773. DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3773.
Phosphate (Pi), a major cell component, is a strategically important plant resource due to the impending shortage of high-quality sources of this element. Diminishing the use of Pi in crop production requires a better understanding of the factors that stimulate Pi uptake. It has been widely observed that plants exposed to Pi and Zinc (Zn) deficiencies accumulate more Pi than when they are in more Zn-rich soils. Current data suggest that a specific signaling pathway is involved in the crosstalk between Pi and Zn homeostasis. Although some regulators have been identified recently, most of the early players involved in this pathway remain unknown. The PHLOWZ project aims to clarify the early events involved in this crosstalk, using live imaging of changes in Zn and Pi homeostasis and transcriptomics. PHLOWZ will combine these results with the power of GWAS studies and reverse genetics to identify new early players and regulatory nodes of the Zn/Pi pathway. The discovery of these regulators will have great significance for basic research and agronomical applications.
Madame Hélène Javot (Institut de biosciences et biotechnologies d'Aix-Marseille)
The author of this summary is the project coordinator, who is responsible for the content of this summary. The ANR declines any responsibility as for its contents.
BIAM Institut de biosciences et biotechnologies d'Aix-Marseille
BPMP Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes
I2BC Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule
IMP Heinrich Heine Universität / Institute of Molecular Physiology
Help of the ANR 503,635 euros
Beginning and duration of the scientific project:
October 2019
- 42 Months
