Endoreduplication in cadmium-exposed Arabidopsis thaliana plants a trigger for acclimation? (R-7524)

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic compounds released into our environment by industrial and agricultural activities in the past and present time. Recent attempts to clean-up Cd-contaminated soils using plants are regularly hampered by its phytotoxicity. Therefore, it is critical to increase our fundamental insight into the mechanisms underlying plant responses that ultimately contribute to acclimation to Cd stress. Within this framework, the current project proposal aims to investigate the effects of sublethal Cd exposure on (1) endoreduplication, (2) its relation to plant growth responses and DNA damage at the molecular level and (3) the involvement of the phytohormone ethylene and the antioxidant metabolites ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) within this framework using a reverse genetic approach. Since all objectives highly rely on flow cytometric analyses, a budget to obtain a flow cytometer is requested within this research grant. Using short- as well as long-term exposure scenarios, acute responses that finally lead to plant acclimation to Cd stress are simultaneously studied to obtain an integrated picture. The experiments executed within the current project proposal are highly complementary to ongoing PhD and postdoctoral projects, taking them to the next level by analyses at multiple biological levels and using an increased experimental resolution (separate leaves).

Keywords:cadmium, endoreduplication, flow cytometry

Disciplines:General biology, Plant biology