A subcellular view on plant metabolic regulation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Nägele
• Subject Area: Plant Physiology ; Biochemistry ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456490287

Intraspecific genetic variation in the genomes of plant species is investigated largely as the first line of adaptation processes to microclimatic fluctuation in natural habitats. Arabidopsis thaliana and its natural accessions is one of the best studied model species in this context. Natural metabolic plasticity, however, is hardly predictable by whole-genome sequence information. According to our recent results, the tight regulation of subcellular metabolism is part of a strategy of Arabidopsis accessions to adapt to a changing environment. Here, we propose the combination of molecular subcellular analysis and biomathematical modelling to eventually resolve a so far neglected component of stress adaptation: natural variation of subcellular metabolic compartmentation as a response to stress conditions. Particularly the raffinose family of oligosaccharides (RFOs) have a high variability in accession-dependent subcellular compartmentation under low temperature together with amino and organics acids. Secondary metabolites are also well known for diverse biosynthetic pathways distributed over different plant cell organelles and, thus, our project will reveal subcellular distribution of secondary metabolites as well. Following this, we hypothesize that (i) induction of secondary metabolism is essential for stabilizing the central energy metabolism, most probably by stabilization of photosynthesis, (ii) that this regulatory interaction between photosynthesis, primary and secondary metabolism is very diverse, controlled by subcellular compartmentation and classifies natural Arabidopsis accessions and their adaptation strategies to the environment. The contribution of subcellular metabolic regulation to stress adaptation is at the moment a rather less described research area due to technically and experimentally difficulties to resolve subcellular compartmentation of metabolites and proteins. We developed a novel benchtop-based protocol to exactly address this question and will apply this to an array of pre-characterised natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana showing high metabolic plasticity. In combination with biomathematical modelling this analysis will reveal unpredictable intra-specific regulation of subcellular metabolism as response to environmental conditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Wolfram Weckwerth