MENOMED
Metal homeostasis in nodulated Medicago truncatula
| Coordinatore | UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Organization address
address: Calle Ramiro de Maeztu 7 contact info |
| Nazionalità Coordinatore | Spain [ES] |
| Totale costo | 100˙000 € |
| EC contributo | 100˙000 € |
| Programma | FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) |
| Code Call | FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG |
| Funding Scheme | MC-IRG |
| Anno di inizio | 2011 |
| Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) | 2011-04-01 - 2015-03-31 |
Partecipanti
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID
Organization address
address: Calle Ramiro de Maeztu 7 contact info |
ES (MADRID) | coordinator | 100˙000.00 |
Mappa
Word cloud
Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.
Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)
'Legumes are the second major food source for humans and livestock, and crucial elements in any sustainable strategy of agriculture, since they are the main responsible of fixed nitrogen in natural ecosystems, and the largest supplier of nitrogen for agriculture. This is due to the establishment in their roots of a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia. In it, the rhizobia colonize a new organ, the nodule. In this organ, a microaerobiotic environment is essential for nitrogenase, the key enzyme of nitrogen fixation, to work. In exchange for fixed nitrogen, the plant provides the rhizobia with fixed carbon and oligonutrients such as iron and copper. Iron and copper play an essential role in the nodule, being involved in nitrogenase enzymatic activity, creation of the microaerobiotic environment, protection against free radical species created as side product of nitrogen fixation, energy obtention, and in producing regulatory free radicals, among other processes. However, essential heavy metals are scarce nutrients in soils, and are a frequent limiting crop yields. Therefore, we hypothesize that the host legume must strive to satisfy the nodule’s demand for more metals, and consequently mobilize these precious nutrients from other parts of the plant. As a consequence, the legume must alter the expression levels of metal homeostasis genes, change the distribution of metal along the plant, express new metal transporters in the nodule, and recover the metals once the nodule senesced. We will test this hypothesis by studying the : i) metal transcriptome in the nodulated plant, ii) metallome in the nodulated plant, iii) functional characterization (biochemical and physiological) of Cu and Fe transporters expressed in the nodule. For this, we will use as a model plant Medicago truncatula, and state of the art technology, such as the new Affymetrix chips or X-ray fluorescence to determine metal distribution.'
Introduzione (Teaser)
Legumes are an important food source for humans and livestock and are the largest supplier of nitrogen for agriculture. Researchers are investigating how the plants regulate metal homeostasis in order to improve nitrogen fixation rates and productivity.