Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ROOTPHENOBIOME (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plant-associated microorganisms influence plant growth by means of the transformation of nutrients in the root-soil interphase. Nitrogen fertilization is a primary economic and environmental component of intensive maize production. Root phenotypes show a remarkable yet scarcely explored diversity at the architectural and anatomical levels of organization. Such natural variation in root phenotypes has been hypothesized to be related to adaptation under edaphic nutrient stress. The rhizosphere and rhizoplane microenvironments are microbial hotspots that may be influenced by the root phenotype. Contrasting phenotypes may have differences in root exudate localization and oxygen availability, two factors that have important effects on the composition and function of rhizosphere bacteria. In the context of the plant microbiome, previous studies have found effects of planting site, soil properties, compartmentalization (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane, endosphere), agricultural management, and fertilization regimes on root-associated microbial communities of agriculturally relevant plants. However, the root phenotype has yet not been evaluated as possible source of variation for the plant-associated microbiome and to link this information with nutrient uptake efficiency. This proposal aims at filling this gap by combining state-of-art root phenotyping, deep molecular genetic assessment of the microbiome, and 15N stable isotope tracing to assess the influence of maize root phenotypes on the root-associated microbiome and its combined effect on fertilizer nitrogen uptake efficiency under low nitrogen availability. Such information will be useful to inform future plant breeding programs targeting root phenes and microbiomes and reduce the reliance on agrochemicals in the context of sustainable agriculture.

Mots clés : root phenomics, plant nutrition, microbial ecology, nitrogen

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet MICROMETABOLITE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Doctoral Networks
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plant-derived natural products or, more specifically, plant secondary metabolites are backbones of today’s pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical industry. Plant-associated microorganisms have been implicated an important role in sustaining plant growth and, through inducing or influencing synthesis pathways, in the production of plant secondary metabolites. MICROMETABOLITE aims at exploring the plant-associated microflora for improving the production of bioactive secondary plant metabolites that are of high value for industrial applications. The network will focus on members of the Boraginaceae plant family including Lithospermum and Alkanna species, which produce the naphtoquinones shikonin and alkannin derivatives (A/S). These plants are used for the production of several pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical preparations that are already on the market or in the final stages of development. Specifically, we will analyse relationships between the content of A/S or other secondary metabolites, the plant genotype, and the plant-associated microflora. Further, we will explore in which ways microorganisms beneficially influence metabolite production, and we will establish novel production systems, enabling that raw materials for industrial applications can be cultivated under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). MICROMETABOLITE aspires to create an environment that will foster synergistic cooperation between researchers in relevant, currently hardly inter-linked scientific disciplines and maximize the exploitation of plant biotechnology in accordance with the needs of the European pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. As the first network in this area, it will train some of the most talented European young scientists (ESRs) to become future leading scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs, who can take on leadership in the required scientific and technological discovery and in the development of next-generation pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical applications.

Mots clés : plant associated microorganisms, plant secondary metabolites

Participants :
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Grèce) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 484773.84 €
- Austrian Institute of Technology (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 511868.16 €
- Institut für Pflanzenkultur (Germany) (Allemagne) — Partner, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 249216.48 €
- Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 501120.0 €
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 501120.0 €
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Grèce) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 484773.84 €
Projet DISTRESS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants adjust leaf water potential and hydraulic conductance under drought through stomatal behaviour, reducing sap flow and protecting plants from extensive water loss and embolism. Due to the negative effect that vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and tree height have on canopy-scale water conductance (G), Darcy’s law predicts a decline in G due to the expected increase in VPD following climate warming, to which tall trees would be presumably more sensitive. Further work is thus needed to understand the effect that tree size has on tree response to increased VPD and drought. This project aims at (1) testing whether, at a given VPD, trees adjust different functional traits to compensate for the negative effect of height on G in (a) tropical forests and (b) at a global scale, and (2) describing the mechanisms behind these adjustments and the potential interactions with other functional processes that may impair tree response to drought stress with increasing size. We will first measure multiple functional traits (including sap flux, gas exchange and leaf and xylem water potential) on trees of different heights to test Darcy’s law predictions and evaluate the role that the trade-offs among traits play on enhanced vulnerability to drought with increasing tree size in tropical forests. In order to assess whether the studied mechanisms prevail across species and ecosystems, we will perform a global-scale analysis of sap-flow and, thus, G responses to VPD as a function of tree height using the sap-flux data from 159 species and nine different biomes gathered within SAPFLUXNET. This integrated analysis will provide a better understanding of the role that tree size plays in tree vulnerability to drought in the short (temporary physiological response) and long term (legacy effects), allowing the improvement of mechanistic models of tree response to climatic variability. Such information is essential to better simulate the impact that climate change may have on forest ecosystems.

Mots clés : darcy s hydraulic corollary, drought, functional traits, sap flow, transpiration, tree height, vapour pressure deficit, water vapour conductance

Participants :
- Battelle (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €
- CERCA Institution (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 245732.16 €
Projet PathoGenoPredict (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Plants and their pathogens are locked in an ongoing coevolutionary battle, with outcomes affecting food and environmental security. Pathogenesis can occur when a host's resistance and pathogen's virulence genotypes are compatible with infection, while incompatible genotypes lead to resistance. A myriad of studies of molecular plant-pathogen interactions have probed the precise combinations of host (R) and pathogen (Avr) genes that lead to susceptibility or resistance. While laboratory trials are valuable, they cannot directly predict when and where pathogenesis will occur in natural or agricultural plant populations, as environmental factors also play a role. In this fellowship, I will build predictions of plant pathogenesis that account for spatiotemporal variation in both host and pathogen genetics over the landscape and through time. I will investigate the model system of Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa; an oomycete) and Arabidopsis thaliana (Ath; a plant). Existing work in this system has identified the molecular mechanisms underlying multiple disease resistance phenotypes. I propose to extend this work by evaluating the genetic interaction of Hpa and Ath across the landscape. Specifically, I aim to 1) Determine the spatial distribution of genetic diversity across the landscape in both Ath and Hpa, investigating both neutral genome-wide patterns and R/Avr gene loci. 2) Model genetic variation in R/Avr genes across the landscape, producing maps both for today’s climate, and under predicted future climate change. 3) Predict how genetics interacts with a variable environment, including a changing climate, to produce disease, including future changes in the coevolutionary balance between plant and pathogen due to climate-induced range shifts. These aims facilitate the projection of molecular plant-pathogen interactions onto the landscape, and provide a framework to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying ecological interaction of plants and their pathogens.

Mots clés : phytopathology, plant pathogen, arabidopsis, natural variation, landscape genomics, landscape genomic prediction

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 174806.4 €
Projet DARES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants are able to recognize the chemical cues from neighbors and modulate their investment into growth and defense accordingly. While the effects and mechanisms of neighbor recognition on above ground plant-herbivore interactions have been studied extensively, they have rarely been investigated below ground, despite the importance of root herbivores and root-root signaling. The key objectives of DARES are 1) to investigate how does the presence of conspecific and heterospecific neighbors affects the root metabolism and defenses of Taraxacum officinale and its resistance against its main natural enemy, the white grub Melolontha melolotha, 2) to identify the type of chemical information that T. officinale uses to recognize neighbors (above ground volatiles, below ground volatiles or root exudates), and 3) to identify the chemical compounds from neighboring plants that T. officinale responds to. The results of DARES will allow me to assess the importance of associational resistance for below ground interactions. Furthermore, the gained knowledge will help to employ plant-based control strategies of T. officinale as a weed and M. melolontha as a grassland pest.

Mots clés : plant herbivore interactions, root herbivores, associational resistance, plant plant recognition

Participants :
- University of Bern (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187419.6 €
Projet transcriPTIon (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants are constantly exposed to a range of microbial pathogens. As plants lack an adaptive immune system, recognition and signalling in the cells directly exposed to pathogens is vital for plant defence and survival, and thus agricultural yields. Initial detection of pathogens is mediated by plant recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), perceived by pattern recognition receptors at the plasma membrane. These receptors activate an array of signalling events, culminating in a massive transcriptional reprogramming, leading to PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Although this transcriptional reprogramming is vital for establishing plant defence, our knowledge of the mechanisms by which it is mediated remains fragmented. Here I propose to utilize the TRANSPLANTA collection of Arabidopsis thaliana lines that inducibly express individual transcription factors (TFs) to generate a more cohesive understanding of transcription in plant defence. Specifically, I propose to (1) identify TFs that affect PTI when overexpressed, (2) select top candidates, acting broadly in PTI regardless of pathogen, (3) elucidate their mode of regulation, using immunoblotting and protein co-immunoprecipitation, and (4) identify their target genes via chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing, and effect on transcription via RNA-seq. Knowledge of the identity, regulation, and targets of TFs involved in establishing PTI will allow the exploration of heretofore unknown transcriptional networks in plant immunity, providing not only insight into this signalling process but also targets for biotechnological strategies for crop protection. My graduate work on regulation of early plant stress responses has prepared me for this project, while the experience and mentorship offered by the host lab and institution in new techniques, scientific communication, and international collaboration make this an ideal opportunity to prepare me for a future as an independent research leader.

Mots clés : plant pattern triggered immunity, transcription factor regulation

Participants :
- Sainsbury Laboratory (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet THyM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plants can reorient their growth towards a favorable light environment to optimize photosynthesis in a process called phototropism. This process is initiated by the phototropin blue light receptors, perceiving light gradients to trigger downstream signaling leading to the asymmetric distribution of auxin across the photo-stimulated stem. The Fankhauser lab showed that AtABC, an ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter family protein is important for phototropism. AtABC shares homology with Drosophila transporters, which are involved in eye pigment precursor transport and play a vital role in insect vision. In addition to reduced phototropism, Atabc mutants have transparent hypocotyls. The primary objective of this project is to understand the function of AtABC in phototropism and to test whether this transporter is required for light gradient establishment across the hypocotyl. First, I will characterize the Atabc mutant at the tissue, cellular and subcellular levels (e.g. staining for cell wall components) to determine what defect underlies the transparent hypocotyl phenotype. Using several approaches including confocal microscopy to visualize light-activated proteins and fiber-optic techniques, I will measure the light gradient across the hypocotyl of wild type and Atabc mutants. I will characterize phototropin signaling using biochemical and microscopic approaches to determine at which signaling step AtABC is required. To characterize AtABC, I will determine its expression pattern and subcellular localization using GFP-tagged AtABC. Together with the phenotypic characterization of the mutant, this will provide testable hypotheses regarding the substance(s) transported by AtABC. Finally, to determine the functional conservation of AtABC in other plants, I will characterize Brasicca rapa mutants defective in the orthologous gene. The functional characterization of AtABC may provide key insights into light gradient establishment in a plant photosensory organ.

Mots clés : phototropism, phototropins, light gradient, abc transporter, shielding pigments, blue light, photoreceptors

Participants :
- University of Lausanne (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet TOC-maker (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Plants convert solar energy into chemical energy by the process called photosynthesis in a specialized compartment of the cell known as chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are majorly enriched with nucleus-encoded proteins and to import them, chloroplast outer and inner envelope membranes are equipped with apparatus called the TOC and TIC translocons, respectively. For the TOC apparatus, there are two major configurations, TOC-P and TOC-H, reported so far, which import highly abundant, Photosynthetic and Housekeeping pre-proteins, respectively. TOC-P and TOC-H are multiprotein complexes which must be specifically assembled for proper development and homeostasis of the chloroplast. Due to the dynamic nature of the translocons, component synthesis and assembly must be rapid and tightly coupled, making the process difficult to investigate. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of the assembly process is both challenging and exciting. Biogenesis of TOC complexes is rapidly enhanced during chloroplast development or de-etiolation, and I will exploit this process to investigate the assembly of different TOC configurations, using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. For this purpose, transgenic plants expressing epitope-tagged TOC components and cells expressing nascent polypeptides of TOC components with stalled ribosomes will be generated. Proteins transiently interacting with new TOC components, which are predicted to assist integration and assembly of the TOC complex, will be studied by using affinity purification, pulse-chase experiments, and other biochemical techniques, and thus a sequence of assembly events will be elucidated. Although the molecular composition of the TOC protein import machinery has been well studied, the detailed structural organization of TOC complexes has not yet been elucidated. I will address this knowledge gap by analysing affinity-purified TOC complexes from mature chloroplasts at high resolution by cryo-electron microscopy.

Mots clés : photosynthesis, chloroplast biogenesis, multi protein complex, protein assembly, protein transport, cryo em

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet IRF4 Degradation (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plasma cells (PCs) are antibody-producing cells that develop from activated B cells in an immune response. Antibodies produced by these cells are essential for the clearance of pathogens and long-term protection against recurrent infections. PCs can also be pathogenic in autoimmune disease, where self-recognising antibodies are produced, and cancer, in the form of multiple myeloma. An understanding of the molecular pathways that control PC function is therefore necessary for understanding human immunity and these pathologies. Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 (IRF4, gene name Irf4) is a transcription factor whose deletion in mouse models results in the loss of all PCs. Because of this, the genes that are regulated by IRF4, and hence which cellular pathways are required for PC survival, are unknown. Here, I propose to use a revolutionary approach to determine the target genes of IRF4. I will use targeted protein degradation to deplete IRF4 in mouse PCs, and then determine the immediate changes in transcription following IRF4 loss using a state-of-the-art RNA sequencing technique, known as SLAM-seq. The advantage of this approach is that I can analyze changes in transcription before the onset of the survival defect. I will then study the functional roles of the identified IRF4 target genes in PCs. This is a multidisciplinary project that combines molecular biology approaches with cell biology and immune physiology. In addition, this proposal allows for transfer of knowledge from myself, an expert in the regulation of cell survival, and the host institution, which will train me in molecular biology techniques and expertise in PC biology. IRF4 has been implicated in both autoimmune disease and multiple myeloma, and so this proposal addresses a basic research question that has translatable outcomes. Hence, this proposal is in line with the H2020 objective to increase the transfer of knowledge into tangible products, and contributes to the European knowledge-based economy.

Mots clés : protein degradation

Participants :
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (Autriche) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 174167.04 €
Projet Plasmonic Reactor (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Plasmonic nanoparticles (PNPs) present unique optoelectronic properties that depend on their size and shape and are not present in larger particles or the bulk material. Such properties arise from their localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). LSPRs are the light-induced coherent motion of electrons that produce dramatic enhancements of the electromagnetic field close to the surface of the particle (hot spots) as well as large scattering and absorption cross-sections. These properties have motivated the use of PNPs in many applications including ultra-sensitive sensing, light harvesting, imaging, photonics, and medical and pharmaceutical therapies. Very recently, a previously unexplored feature of LSPRs opened a new perspective. Non-radiative decay of LSPRs can result in the excitation of electron-hole pairs with high, far-from-equilibrium energies known as hot carriers. These carriers can be injected into a nearby molecule causing its chemical transformation. Manipulating LSPRs allows for the fine control of the reactive properties of hot carriers, in a similar way in which it has enabled control of electromagnetic fields. This offers new possibilities in photochemistry, including enhanced efficiencies, spatial distribution of reactivity and bond selectivity. However, determining the role of hot carriers in plasmon-mediated chemistry is a difficult task as it could be masked by other catalytic properties (heat generation and field enhancement). The main objectives of this proposal are: 1) The implementation of an optical method for reactive-spot mapping, which will allow to create a map that highlight areas of low and high photochemical reactivity on single PNPs with high spatial resolution. 2) The control of plasmon-mediated growth of PNPs with nanoscale spatial selectivity. Determination of the role of hot carriers in these reactions. 3) Study, design and optimization of hybrid bimetallic plasmonic-catalytic NPs with applications in energy conversion.

Mots clés : plasmonic nanoantennas, super resolution fluorescence microscopy, plasmon chemistry, nanochemistry, hot carriers, hot electrons, nasca

Participants :
- Imperial College London (Royaume-Uni) — Partner, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 91727.4 €
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 79730.4 €