On 07 June, 2022 we welcome Prof. Dr. Gerd Patrick Bienert head of the Crop Physiology group at TUM Munich as a guest of the RTG. The research of his group focuses on the understanding of the function and regulation of genes and proteins and relevant mechanisms in crop plants, which allow optimizing biotechnologically and agriculturally quality- and yield traits related to their metalloid metabolism and in dependence of the plants water status. Related to this he will give a talk entitled “Metalloids: The Yin and Yang for crop production and healthy nutrition – molecular mechanisms regulating metalloid efficiency” as part of the Halle Plant Science Colloquium at 5:00 pm in presence.
Date: 07 June, 2022
Time: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Format: Presence
Location: Lecture hall E.02, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 9 (Heide Süd Campus)
Abstract: Metalloids encompass a group of biologically important elements ranging from the essential (boron, B) to the highly toxic (arsenic, As). Consequently, all organisms require efficient regulatory systems to control their mineral metalloid status. Boron, Si and As share the same Nodulin26-like Intrinsic Protein (NIP)-mediated transport pathways. We aim at generating NIP transporters which are permeable to B but not to the toxic mineral As. To this aim, we are employing targeted and non-targeted mutational approaches and allele mining combined with transport studies in heterologous expression systems. Excitingly, we identified a NIP isoform, which is B specific. In this context, we were able to unravel the functional evolution of NIPs along the phylogeny of land plants. We provided genetic and functional evidence that the horizontal gene transfer of NIP genes from bacteria to plants allowed for a subsequent stepwise functional diversification and neo- functionalization, which finally turned bacterial As efflux channels into essential plant B/Si nutrient importers. Identifying transport-unrelated B efficiency mechanisms in plants has historically proven difficult, largely because of experimental difficulties. In response, we developed systems to study genotypic effects on plant development in repeatable B-deficient conditions. Precise tailoring of this system enabled us to identify B-efficiency mechanisms and their underlying loci in the highly B demanding plants, oilseed-rape (B. napus) and Arabidopsis by QTL and GWAS analyses respectively.
If you like to meet with the speaker, please contact the host, Edgar Peiter in advance.
The Halle Plant Science Colloquium (HPSC) is an interdepartmental colloquium of Institutions of the Martin-Luther-University working on any aspect of functional plant biology.
Interested in plant science? – Find more HPSC events listed here: https://www.landw.uni-halle.de/prof/pflanzenernaehrung/hpsc/
