Unveiling novel metabolite-driven signalling pathways that regulate carbon/nitrogen imbalance associated to plant stress

Environmental stresses trigger metabolic changes that alter the internal carbon/nitrogen (C/N) balance in plants to promote tolerance at the expense of growth.

However, the metabolic and genetic components involved in the precise coordination of the nutritional status remain largely unknown.

MetaboSignals aim is elucidating novel signalling mechanisms governing nutrient balance by using C/N stress conditions as a proxy.

This 3-year project proposes the integration of molecular genetics and biological chemistry disciplines to identify signalling functions of intermediate metabolites derived from C and N metabolism and characterize new nutritional sensors of C/N balance.

Here, several innovative and powerful methods for chemical distribution mapping, proteomics and transcriptomic analyses are integrated in a convergent workflow with gene functional characterization to be carried out in cutting-edge institutions such as University of California San Diego and Universidad Politcnica de Madrid.

Implementation of this multidisciplinary proposal will greatly bolster the fellows scientific profile and will uncover novel metabolite-controlled signalling pathways useful for knowledge-based improvements on plant nutrition and crop yield of scientific and societal relevance.