Using Physcomitrella patens to reveal key players in salt resistance and elucidate the complex regulatory mechanisms involved in cellular salt metabolism

• Antragsteller: Dr. Andreas Busch
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Pflanzenphysiologie
• Förderung: Förderung von 2010 bis 2012
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 170006304

The moss Physcomitrella patens shows a high resilience towards salinity. We aim to exploit this capacity to identify key players in salt resistance and to gain deeper insights into the regulation and coordination of different Na+ exclusion mechanisms. Using a yeast complementation assay we will screen Physcomitrella cDNA for genes that are able to confer salt resistance. Identified genes will be further analyzed in Physcomitrella by generating knock-out lines and subject them to a broad phenotypic characterization. In the second part of the project we will take advantage of Physcomitrella’s complement of different ion-transporters and Na+ exclusion pathways. We focus on (i) the role of SOS1 and HKT1;1 in Physcomitrella (ii) the role of calcineurin B-like proteins and their interacting kinases in the coordination of the different Na+ transporters and (iii) the post-transcriptional regulation of the Na+- ATPase PpENA1 in Physcomitrella. Knock-out mutants for different genes of interest will be generated in Physcomitrella and their phenotypic characterization will include a broad range of physiological methods. Additionally different strategies will be employed to reveal potential regulatory protein-protein interactions.

• DFG-Verfahren: Forschungsstipendien
• Internationaler Bezug: Dänemark
• Gastgeberin: Professorin Dr. Christina Lunde