Evolutionary history of ECA1 gametogenesis-related proteins and their roles in seed plant reproduction

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Stefanie Sprunck
• Subject Area: Plant Cell and Developmental Biology ; Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 431732981

Secreted small cysteine-rich proteins or peptides (CRPs) mediate many aspects of plant physiology and development, ranging from plant defense, plant–bacteria symbiosis, sexual reproduction and seed development. One of the largest and so far unexplored group of CRPs in Arabidopsis thaliana and other flowering plant species are the Early Culture Abundant 1 (ECA1) gametogenesis-related proteins, whose function has so far only been assigned to a small subfamily of five closely related proteins called EC1 (EGG CELL 1), which are essential for double fertilization. This project aims to contribute to the understanding of the evolutionary origin, functional diversification and differential expression of ECA1 gametogenesis-related CRPs in land plants, with a special focus on the first appearance of EC1 and related family members. The project will also investigate the structure-function relationships of EC1 and EC1-related proteins, including the importance of post-translational modifications and redox modifications for the secretion or activity of EC1 during double fertilization.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5098: Innovation and Coevolution in Plant Sexual Reproduction - ICIPS