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GRK 2064:  Water use efficiency and drought stress responses: From Arabidopsis to Barley

Subject Area Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
Term from 2015 to 2020
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 252965955
 
Final Report Year 2022

Final Report Abstract

The focus of the Research Training Group 2064 (RTG2064) was the characterization of factors contributing to drought tolerance in the model plant Arabidopsis and in the crop plant barley. This research is of crucial importance for developing crops adopted to adverse stress conditions caused by the climate change. The research on drought is timely and of high relevance to today’s societal agenda. In the course of the RTG2604 projects, different physiological and biochemical processes were studied with high relevance for adaptation to water deficit conditions. These processes included improved water uptake from the soil (differential covering of the root with a suberin layer), the accumulation of solutes which protect the plant cell against osmotic stress (proline), and the protection of plant organs against excessive water loss (cuticular waxes). Furthermore, the effects of drought on the early and late development of reproductive organs was studied in barley. Another focus of the RTG2064 project was how to control levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during drought. Thus, different fluorescent biosensors were employed to study the regulation of ROS-related processes during drought by fluorescence microscopy on a cellular level. An important aspect of the RTG2064 included the transfer of knowledge obtained with Arabidopsis to the crop barley, e.g. as demonstrated by the induction of compatible solute production or the synthesis of cuticular waxes. The RTG2064 was of crucial importance to strengthen the plant science community at the University of Bonn with regard to cooperative research and coordinated training of doctoral students. The common efforts of the consortium improved the visibility of plant sciences on campus and on a national and international level. The interactions and collaborations between the research groups of the Science Faculty and the Agricultural Faculty resulted in original research projects which would have not been possible without the RTG2064. Research results have been published in high-level international journals. The guest lecture programme allowed inviting international scientists to the University of Bonn which helped to increase visibility and fostered further collaborative interactions. The doctoral students were fully involved in this programme and thus had opportunities to seek employment opportunities and to reflect academic careers. The doctoral training programme served as an example to organize Ph.D. projects by other research groups in plant sciences and related fields in Bonn. The RTG2064 also strengthened the interactions of plant scientists between research groups of the University of Bonn, the Max Planck Institute of Plant Breeding Research in Cologne and the University of Düsseldorf. Finally, the RTG2064 was instrumental for advancing the careers of young scientists, as the Ph.D. students of the RTG2064 continued their careers e.g. with postdoctoral projects in high-level research groups, as research group leaders, or as scientists in companies. In addition, three of the young principle investigators of the RTG2064 obtained professorships at Universities in Münster and Kaiserslautern, and the University of Applied Science in Osnabrück.

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