Dissecting the physiological and molecular control of mitochondrial disintegration during Programmed Cell Death execution in plants

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Schwarzländer
• Subject Area: Plant Cell and Developmental Biology ; Plant Physiology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 550298651

Programmed cell death (PCD) is integral to development and health of animals and plants. In contrast to animals, however, the mechanisms involved in regulating PCD execution in plants remain insufficiently understood. Recent insights from the Arabidopsis root cap, a model system for developmentally controlled PCD, demonstrate that mitochondria disintegrate at the onset of PCD execution, releasing mitochondrial matrix proteins into the cytosol. In the absence of any conserved regulators involved in apoptosis of animal cells, this finding raises the hypothesis that mitochondrial disintegration is analogous in animal and plant PCD execution and a case of convergent evolution. Preliminary investigations suggest that a novel, hitherto uncharacterized plant protein localizing to the mitochondrial outer membrane, causes mitochondrial disintegration during plant PCD execution. In the proposed project, we will test this hypothesis by functionally analyzing the novel protein and the physiological context under which it operates. We aim at uncovering the cell physiological and molecular mechanisms, and the role of mitochondrial disintegration, during the execution of developmentally controlled PCD in plants. We will set a focus on potential functional analogies to mitochondrial membrane permeabilization during animal apoptosis. The outcome of the proposed project has the potential to achieve a long-awaited breakthrough in our understanding of the mitochondrial mechanisms during plant PCD execution.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Belgium
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Moritz Nowack