Main introduction
Plants are life. They make up 80% of the food we eat and produce 98% of the oxygen we breath [1]. In addition to addressing food waste and distribution, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations) estimates that agriculture production must rise by about 60% by 2050 to feed a larger and richer population. Also, climate changes threaten to reduce the quantity of produced crops, lowering yields and their nutritional values. For more information and infographics on climate changes, consult the website “Fakta o změně klimatu”.
These climate stripes reflect the temperature variations between 1864 and 2019 in South Moravia, CZ. The progression from blue (cooler) to red (warmer) illustrates the increase in global temperatures in the South Moravia region [2]
Crop production depends on sexual plant reproduction, ranging from flower formation, pollination and fertilization to seed production. Plant growth and development are regulated by signaling substances such as plant hormones. In plants, interactions between hormonal pathways and environmental cues, such as temperatures, represent crucial factors that modulate plant morphology, including seed production. However the molecular basis for hormonal-environment crosstalk is largely unknown, especially in seeds.
Our research aims at understanding the effects of endogenous and environmental regulators on plant morphogenesis and seed formation. We perform this work on two plant models: Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus. Our objectives are to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the regulation of hormonal pathways during seed production.
Projects
Three projects address the question how the expression of the YUCCA and TAA1 genes, responsible for the production of the plant hormone auxin, is regulated during seed development. Each project investigates different families of transcription factors that we identified as potentially interacting with the promoters of those genes in a yeast one-hybrid screen.
Centre for Experimental Plant Biology project (ExBio, MŠMT CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000738)
MSCAFellow@MUNI (METRILAB: Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of local auxin biosynthesis)
Horizon 2020 MSCA IF (ITRABAE: Investigating the transcriptional regulation of auxin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis embryo)
In two projects, we investigate the effects of high temperatures on seed production in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus. We use controlled growth conditions at the CEITEC Plant Sciences CF greenhouses and phytotrons to grow our plants in set stress conditions. And we performed detailed phenotyping using microscopes at the CEITEC Cellular Imaging CF.
Signal Integration and epigenetic reprograming for plant productivity (SINGING PLANT, MŠMT CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_026/0008446)
Unraveling the thermoregulation of seed development in Brassica napus (TempSeed, GACR 19-05200S)
Post-harvest fruit losses are substantial in Europe, up to 30% of the total fruit and vegetable production. Post-harvest management are essential to maintain high-quality and high-nutritional fruits for the consumer. Various factors in low-oxygen sensing, oxidative stress and signalling of the plant hormone ethylene are involved in climacteric fruit ripening. The RoxyCOST Action brings together researchers from different disciplines and will implement advanced technologies and methodologies with the purpose to propose solutions to extend the post-harvesting period of those fruits. With the INTERCOST project, we contribute in solving some of the research questions of the Working Group 2 (“Deciphering the mechanisms of low oxygen sensing in fruit crops”) by developing hairy root culture systems in fruit crops.
Oxygen sensing a novel mean for biology and technology of fruit quality (RoxyCOST CA18120, COST Actions)
Insight into the transcriptional regulation of the crosstalk between plant hormones and the stress response in fruits (INTERCOST MŠMT LTC20004)
Facilities
We use following core facilities from CEITEC. For more information, click on the image.
