Reprogramming plant responses to nitrate

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Matias Daniel Zurbriggen
• Subject Area: Plant Cell and Developmental Biology ; Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics ; Plant Physiology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 552896597

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a critical agricultural trait that depends on the plant’s ability to efficiently uptake nutrients from the soil and to transport and utilize those nutrients for maximum yields. The size, shape and responsiveness of root systems are important contributors to NUE. For example, large root systems have been observed to be more efficient at utilizing applied nitrogen (N), and roots that can rapidly modify their growth and architecture to maximize N uptake and its associated metabolism can increase the chances of plant survival when nutrients are scarce. This project will apply the expertise of three investigators in root development, N-responses, and synthetic biology to reduce the amount of fertilizers required during the cultivation of tomatoes, the most produced fruit in the world. To achieve this, we will control root growth with the goal of priming plant development to maximize the use of externally applied fertilizer and engineer improved growth in response to N availability. This will enable us to test the NUE of plants with specific root architectures. We will do this by establishing synthetic biology tools to control nitrogen responses and root architecture. We will then test their impact on NUE. We will also develop a state-of-the-art synthetic optogenetic system. This will allow us to control below-ground root development via the application of specific wavelengths of light to aerial tissues, such as leaves, via a mobile shoot-to-root signal. Our project will deliver programmed plants with predictable and novel characteristics that will provide unique insights into the biological programs that control root growth in response to N and the role of root system architecture in NUE. We will also deliver novel and broadly useful tools for engineering plants, including robust molecular switches and advanced optogenetic devices, and apply them to improve plant mineral nutrient relations. This project will build on knowledge and expertise gained in previous work, including a collaboration between the Brady and Patron labs that successfully elucidated a regulatory network involved in coordinating tomato responses to nitrate, enabling us to predict the impact of genetic mutations on nitrate responses. It will also incorporate expertise in synthetic networks and modelling, as well as world- leading expertise in the development of optogenetic devices from the Zurbriggen lab. Our objectives are designed to address the overarching aim of reducing fertilizer use, fitting the scope of future-proofing plants for a changing climate. Our approach fits within the theme of 'programmable plants' as we will use synthetic biology to engineer and test the functional impacts of plant phenotypes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom, USA
• Partner Organisation: Biotechnology und Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Cooperation Partners: Professorin Siobhan Brady, Ph.D.; Professorin Nicola Patron, Ph.D.