Project Details
TRR 175: The Green Hub: Central Coordinator of Acclimation in Plants
Subject Area
Biology
Term
since 2016
Website
Homepage
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270050988
Plants constantly adjust (acclimate) to environmental changes, involving signalling and multiple genetic and metabolic changes. The chloroplast has emerged as a hub of acclimation, serving as both sensor and target of acclimation. The TRR175 brings together scientists from Munich, Kaiserslautern, Berlin/Golm and now Bielefeld, with outstanding expertise in the genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and systems biology in the model species Arabidopsis, tobacco, Chlamydomonas, Camelina and now Chlorella. While in the first funding period, TRR175 focused on acclimation to cold, heat and high light, in the second funding period fluctuating light, drought and prolonged cold periods have been added. TRR175 has also targeted the role of the nucleocytosolic compartment in acclimation signalling. In addition, results from cyanobacterial adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments were successfully tested in plants. Quantitative experimentation pervaded the entire research network, providing a high level of synergy between physiological, biochemical and systems biology approaches. In the third funding period, we will also address acclimation in natural environments where multiple factors are changing. In Area A (Genetic Modulators), we will build on our finding that translation is critical for acclimation, particularly to cold, and investigate the role of phase separation, the spatial organisation of acclimation responses, and, in two new projects, acclimation to multiple environmental changes. In Area B (Metabolic Modulators), we will continue to identify modulators involved in redox regulation, transport processes and primary metabolism. In a new project, we will study the interaction between photoreceptors and acclimation and analyse structure-function relationships. In Area C (Signalling), we have found that biogenic and operational chloroplast signalling is strongly intertwined with acclimation pathways. A strong focus will be on nuclear transcription factors (TFs) as targets of chloroplast signalling, and on the interplay between the chloroplast unfolded membrane protein response and retrograde signalling. In Area D (Data Mining and Modelling), we will continue to model and reconstruct acclimation processes, integrate quantitative data to predict acclimation modulators, and extend this to TF networks in a new project. Our central scientific project Z1 will continue to bundle quantitative biology approaches and to pursue innovative projects. These include a new forward genetics tool (pamiR approach), a novel approach to improve photosynthetic acclimation (F2P2) and the extension of our ALE approach to green algae. For Camelina, we will generate several additional transgenic lines with improved carbohydrate and carotenoid metabolism. The expected results will help to unravel the complexity of acclimation and to address the challenge of effectively identifying genetic factors with high potential to ultimately improve acclimation in crops.
DFG Programme
CRC/Transregios
Current projects
- A02 - Chloroplast Ribonucleoprotein CP29A – adjusting chloroplast RNA pools during cold acclimation responses (Project Head Schmitz-Linneweber, Christian )
- A06 - Light- and cold-dependent integrators of chloroplast gene expression and C-metabolism in Chlamydomonas (Project Head Nickelsen, Ph.D., Jörg )
- A08 - Challenged (by) parasites - Plastid-mediated acclimation kinetics of plant-plant-pathosystems (Project Head Wicke, Susann )
- A09 - The role of cold acclimation in C. ohadii physiological and transcriptional responses to extreme light stress (Project Head Treves, Ph.D., Haim )
- B02 - Role of thioredoxins and regulation of starch metabolism in acclimation to light and temperature (Project Head Geigenberger, Peter )
- B03 - Function of chloroplast located sugars and the plastid envelope in acclimation to cold temperatures (Project Heads Neuhaus, Ekkehard ; Trentmann, Oliver )
- B04 - Influence of ascorbate-mediated signalling on plastidial metabolism and photosynthesis (Project Head Fernie, Ph.D., Alisdair )
- B06 - Acclimation of transport across chloroplast envelopes (Project Head Schwenkert, Serena )
- B07 - Acclimation to fluctuating light: cyclic electron flow (Project Heads Leister, Dario ; Naranjo, Belen ; Penzler, Jan-Ferdinand )
- B08 - Molecular function of uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPP) in chloroplast proteostasis and its effect on acclimation (Project Head Möhlmann, Torsten )
- B09 - Exploring the inner envelope K+ nexus to dissect the significance of the plastid ion ho-meostasis for acclimation (Project Head Kunz, Hans-Henning )
- C01 - Interplay of chloroplast signalling and the nucleocytoplasmic compartment in acclima-tion responses (Project Head Kleine, Tatjana )
- C02 - Dissection of the chloroplast unfolded membrane protein response in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Project Head Schroda, Michael )
- C05 - Mechanisms and components of GUN1/GLK signalling and its relevance for acclimation (Project Heads Kaufmann, Kerstin ; Leister, Dario )
- C07 - Thresholds in local scavenging capacity and retrograde regulation in light acclimation (Project Head Müller-Schüssele, Stefanie )
- D02 - Prediction of acclimation modulators and integrators based on ‘omics data (Project Head Mühlhaus, Timo )
- D03 - Subcellular modelling of metabolic acclimation (Project Heads Klipp, Edda ; Nägele, Thomas )
- D04 - Decoding the input syntax of photosynthetic gene expression (Project Head Bräutigam, Andrea )
- INF - Research-driven cultivation of FAIR data for plant biology (Project Heads Mühlhaus, Timo ; Zimmer, David )
- Z01 - Central scientific project Z1 - Quantitative biology experiments and novel approaches for identifying integrators (Project Heads Kleine, Tatjana ; Klipp, Edda ; Kunz, Hans-Henning ; Leister, Dario ; Neuhaus, Ekkehard ; Ohler, Uwe ; Schmitz-Linneweber, Christian ; Schroda, Michael ; Treves, Ph.D., Haim )
- Z02 - Central Tasks (Project Head Leister, Dario )
Completed projects
- A01 - Chloroplast RNA polymerase activity during acclimation (Project Head Kühn, Kristina )
- A03 - Integrators that acclimate plastid RNA homeostasis in response to environmental and metabolic stimuli (Project Head Meurer, Jörg )
- A04 - Identification and characterization of photosynthetic and translational modulators involved in chloroplast acclimation to low temperature (Project Heads Bock, Ralph ; Zoschke, Reimo )
- A05 - Analysis of co-translationally acting factors regulating the biogenesis of chloroplast encoded proteins (Project Head Willmund, Felix )
- A07 - PPR proteins as modulators of chloroplast translation and RNA stability during temperature acclimation (Project Head Ruwe, Hannes )
- B05 - The role of OEP16 and OEP40 in cold acclimation (Project Head Soll, Jürgen )
- C03 - Regulatory functions of chloroplast-associated non-coding RNAs in acclimation processes (Project Head Frank, Wolfgang )
- C04 - Role of heme for plastid retrograde signaling (Project Head Grimm, Bernhard )
- C06 - Regulation of Flavonoid Biosynthesis by Plastid-derived Signals (Project Head Richter, Andreas S. )
- D01 - Leveraging deep sequencing data to move from predictive to mechanistic models of plastid gene expression (Project Head Ohler, Uwe )
Applicant Institution
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Co-Applicant Institution
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau
Participating University
Universität Bielefeld
Participating Institution
Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (MPI-MP)
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Dario Leister