Research outputs of the project are stored at Zenodo
https://zenodo.org/communities/cz-02-01-01-00-22_008-0004581/
WP1 SEEDLINGS:
SEED GERMINATION AND EARLY STEPS IN PLANT LIFE
The timing of seed germination is one of the critical steps in plant life. Poor seed germination rate, inadequate seedling emergence, and poor stand establishment are among the significant challenges facing global crop production. Using the comprehensive transcriptomic, biochemical, hormonomic, and metabolomic profiling coupled with phenotypic analysis of selected barley and pea germplasm, key components of regulatory pathways activated in seeds and young seedlings in response to water limitation will be identified. The mode of action will be described for validated drought tolerance genes, expanding the knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying crop defence against abiotic stress and providing targets for molecular breeding. An alternative approach to enhance plant defence response employs seed and plant priming as an innovative and affordable technology that positively affects seedling homogeneity and survival in stress conditions. In-house libraries of biostimulants will be screened by high-throughput phenotype-based bioassays to identify new agents mitigating the effect of abiotic stress and to propose stress-response biomarkers applicable to crops.
WP2 ROOTS:
NOVEL REGULATORS OF ROOT DEVELOPMENT
Root development is essential for plant life, starting with the successful establishment of a germinating plant and continuing with the plant's growth and development. The root is a crucial determinant of plant fitness in response to abiotic and biotic stresses, including crop harvest parameters. This work package will deliver a set of new approaches to visualize root systems of model and crop species in physiologically relevant conditions and use them to tackle fundamental molecular mechanisms regulating plant root growth and development at the cellular level, particularly concerning phytohormone regulatory functions and stress response. The synergy of multidisciplinary approaches will result in a deeper understanding of plant root biology and in integrating this aspect of plant life into a holistic picture of the plant body. New regulatory relations in root development and stress reactions uncovered will contribute significantly to the informed breeding of crops ready to cope with the challenges of climate change.
WP3 REPRODUCTION:
REPRODUCTIVE FITNESS UNDER ABIOTIC STRESS
Sexual reproduction is one of the key determinants of crop yield. It takes place in flowers that differentiate from floral meristems during the generative phase of the plant life cycle. After fertilization, flowers give rise to seeds and fruits, the structures harvested in most crops. Certain phases of plant reproduction are extremely sensitive to abiotic stress, namely elevated temperatures and connected drought that cause decreased crop yield. Thus, understanding the processes that govern flowering and sexual reproduction and the basis of their sensitivity to abiotic stress is critical for the development of crops better adapted to climate change. This work package combines the expertise of top research labs working on this topic across the Czech Republic to study processes that underlie the critical developmental stages of plant reproduction, emphasizing molecular pathways and physiological responses affected by heat stress. This will identify stress response pathways for thermo- and drought-tolerance and strategies for improving crop yield under stress conditions.
WP4 HYBRIDIZATION:
GENOMIC CONFLICTS ACCOMPANYING POLYPLOIDIZATION AND INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDIZATION
Genome stability is primarily conditioned by the function of specific chromosome domains (especially centromeres and telomeres) and DNA repair mechanisms. A proper function may be violated by natural or artificial changes. In plants, polyploidization (i.e., whole genome duplication) and merging two distant genomes into a single organism via interspecific hybridization represent two major evolutionary mechanisms leading to speciation. However, hybrid and polyploid plants must adopt new genome arrangements frequently accompanied by compensatory epigenetic reprogramming to ensure genome stability. In hybrid plants, the centromere and telomere machinery from two divergent genomes, originally independent, meet in one cell nucleus, which may result in the loss of the necessary interplay between nucleic acid and protein components of centromeres and telomeres due to the interference of their parental forms. Alternatively, the novel arrangement may show redundancy, dominance effects, or even evolutionary benefits. Research into how a viable interplay of critical centromere and telomere components is established in this situation is addressed in this work package. Using state-of-the-art interdisciplinary methodologies, factors and mechanisms in response to genomic conflicts will be described and implemented in collaboration with the application partners in innovative crop plant improvement based on polyploidization, interspecific hybridization and introgression breeding.
WP5 EDITING:
NEW BREEDING TECHNIQUES FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT
Plant breeding aims to improve yield and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, as well as to increase and modulate the nutrient contents of food. Genome-editing methods allow mutation introduction with high precision and efficiency, significantly accelerating so-called molecular breeding. Their use may facilitate the development of crops with increased and stable yields and new traits without constraints due to the lack of natural variation. This WP aims to develop efficient transgene delivery techniques, including optimization of plant material recovery and regenerating transgenic/mutant plants for selected crops with a specific focus on barley. For sensitive visualization of growth regulators' signalling, barley reporter lines will be constructed to characterize barley mutant lines with disrupted stress-related genes. Moreover, a pipeline to study barley biotic and abiotic stress response genes (i.e., osmotin, ITPK1 gene, ABC transporter gene and WDC gene) will be developed. This WP will also support other WPs with genetic engineering and genome editing-based methods to help validate candidate gene function.
WP6 OUTREACH:
SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY AND PROMOTION OF GENOME EDITING
Climate change endangers the environmental sustainability of agriculture and the production of a sufficient quantity of food for the growing human population. Classical breeding approaches become too slow and inefficient to provide better crops adapted to the changing climate at a necessary pace. Fortunately, the discovery of genome editing allows scientists to apply new breeding techniques, which may contribute to speeding up the breeding process. However, the potential of these techniques in the EU can only be unlocked through intensive communication with the users, consumers, general public, policymakers, and politicians, ultimately leading to change in the obsolete regulatory legislation and wide acceptance of the new advanced technologies. This work package aims to promote the safe and sustainable use of new breeding techniques, disseminate evidence-based knowledge, educate society and establish a pilot site for field testing for genome-edited barley. Changes in public views on genome editing and new breeding technologies will also be explored.