Metal-induced oxidative stress in plants: from signal transduction to crop productivity and quality (R-3992)

A substantial area around the world is suboptimal for plant growth because of pollution with excess metals. As there is an increasing need to grow plants for biomass production (sustainable green energy production), this leads to the need to take these marginal soils into use for the production of non-food biomass as well as feed and food crops. This causes several problems: (1) plant growth on marginal soils is impaired resulting in decreased biomass; (2) accumulation of excess metals in plants may render the produced biomass unsafe; and (3) stress-related mechanisms may decrease plant quality for food and feed purposes. The aim of this project is (1) to characterize plant responses when growing under excess metal concentrations, and (2) to determine features essential in plant growth and quality under these conditions. As a response to external stress factors, the cellular redox balance is a central modulator interconnecting perception, signal transduction and downstream responses i.e. damage versus acclimation. Both research groups investigate metal-induced oxidative stress in plants from different angles, therefore this proposal offers the opportunity to join efforts to assess the mode of action from stress perception to the final output, i.e. plant growth and quality.

Keywords:crops and model organisms, METAL STRESS, Oxidative stress

Disciplines:Biological sciences