description
- "The central objective of this project is to advance the understanding of the metal homeostasis network in plants. More specifically, the planned research is directed at a molecular physiological understanding of metal transport, metal partitioning and upstream regulatory pathways, which are required when iron availability is low or when excess zinc enters the plant. To gain insights of a novel quality, this project will combine molecular genetics, molecular biology and molecular physiology approaches with the implementation and utilization of cutting-edge imaging techniques newly developed in physics, which have not been available to the European molecular plant research community to date. The genetic model plant Arabidopsis thaliana will serve as the experimental system, enabling the fellow to take advantage of the ease of obtaining mutant genotypes and transgenic plants, short generation time and the small size of the plant, thus making the project feasible within its duration. The new knowledge obtained can be applied in crop improvement for bio-fortification and nutrient efficiency, as well as in restricting the accumulation of harmful heavy metals in edible parts of crop plants or, conversely, in the development of plants suitable for plant-based clean-up of soils, through molecular marker-assisted plant breeding. The project will build on the profound expertise of the candidate in synchrotron—based imaging of plant tissues by targeting single-gene functions through comparative imaging of specific tissues from selected genotypes grown under carefully chosen metal regimes. This will involve in-depth training of the candidate in molecular biology and Arabidopsis molecular genetics in the context of the plant metal homeostasis network, the area of specialization of the host lab."