CO2 signal transduction in Arabidopsis thaliana guard cells
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet - Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 2 954 380 |
| Project duration | September 2011 - February 2016 |
| Status | Completed |
Important results from the project
The gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere occurs through specialised pores in the leaves named stomata. Through stomata, carbon dioxide is taken up for photosynthesis and water is lost through transpiration. In this project, the role of the protein HIGH TEMPERATURE 1 in red light-induced stomatal opening was shown. Also, how carbon dioxide and photosynthesis contribute to the control of guard cell turgor was analysed. The VINNMER fellow participated in several leadership and pedagogical courses and supervised a PhD student to a PhD during the VINNMER project time.
Expected long term effects
An international collaboration, with a world-leading group in the field at UCSD USA, strongly improved the scientific merits of the VINNMER fellow. During 2015, three manuscripts were published as a result of the VINNMER collaboration. The leadership and pedagogical skills were also improved thanks to different leadership and pedagogics courses. Ultimately, the scientific findings can be used in tailoring new crops for the future with improved water use efficiency.
Approach and implementation
Several shorter visits as a guest researcher at UCSD were made during the first year of the project; during 2014 and 2015 however, the VINNMER funding enabled the family of the project leader to join, making the guest research periods much longer. Several techniques and methods that the VINNMER fellow learned at UCSD, USA have been integrated at the department in Umeå.