[Seminars] PSB event reminder

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Calendar Name: seminars
Scheduled for: Monday, February 27 2012, 11:00 - 12:30
Event text:    Prof Christian Hermans
	       
	       Lab of Plant Physiology and Molecular Genetics
	       Université Libre de Bruxelles
	       
	       Brussels
	       BELGIUM
Details:       “Molecular and physiological basis of plant nutrition:
	       Insights into the responses to magnesium and nitrate
	       availability.”
	       
	       ABSTRACT
	       Crop nutrition can be manipulated through agronomy and
	       genetics, to optimize biomass allocation and thereby
	       crop yields, and the delivery of essential mineral
	       nutrients to humans and livestock. Our primary research
	       goal is to dissect and exploit the physiological and
	       genetic bases for plant mineral nutrient use efficiency
	       (NUE). (i) The first focus is on magnesium, which is an
	       essential element in plant cell biology but also the
	       fourth most common cation in the human body and half of
	       its dietary intake is from plant origin. Hypomagnesaemia
	       in the human body is recognized as a global clinical
	       problem. Our primary interest is to identify genes
	       involved in Mg homeostasis in the model species
	       Arabidopsis thaliana. To achieve this goal, our
	       experimental outlines are to use natural and
	       mutant-induced changes in Mg content and to identify
	       transcriptome changes associated with Mg depletion and
	       restoration. (ii) The second focus is on nitrate since
	       it is the major nutritional determinant of root
	       morphology, and because of its agronomic significance in
	       determining yield and seed set. Modifying root system
	       architecture (RSA) is one of the strategies aimed at
	       developing plants that capture nutrients more
	       efficiently, which are suited for sustainable farming
	       with less fertilizer inputs. Learning about mechanisms
	       of lateral roots (LRs) growth stimulation or repression
	       by nitrate availability will help to draw strategies to
	       modify RSA. Low nitrate levels in the soil stimulate
	       lateral root development, which substantially increases
	       the root surface area available for acquisition.
	       Conversely, homogeneous high levels of nitrate inhibit
	       lateral root elongation. We are trying to gain better
	       knowledge about these nitrate-dependent changes in root
	       morphology of Arabidopsis. Forward genetic dissections
	       (mutant screens) and genome-wide association mapping are
	       currently used to identify key genes that determine RSA
	       and root biomass allocation. Our applied ambition is to
	       transfer the benefits from Arabidopsis research to
	       Brassica crops. Comparative genomics through a
	       model-to-crop pipeline will allow key genes controlling
	       root architecture traits and mineral content to be
	       studied in crop systems.

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