New FWF-Project "Functional characterization of TOL proteins in barley"

08.10.2020

Verena Ibls new FWF project aims to produce stress resistant barley cultivars and to help to establish barley as future food grain.

Global warming and its indirect consequences include the lack of food security as it emphasizes suboptimal growth conditions causing tremendous yield losses. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) copes well with the stress factors and carries subsequently the great potential to replace wheat as a staple food. Salinity stress as well as heat stress affect crop productivity leading to a reduced storage compound accumulation in the plant. In addition to biochemical responses to abiotic stress, the endomembrane system, specifically the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery, are strongly affected in response to abiotic stress. Within this project, we will make a step change in our knowledge concerning the function of the (ESCRT-0) TOL proteins. Methods of plant biochemistry, proteomics, cell biology and genome editing will be combined to characterize barley TOL proteins during grain development and germination. A special focus within our approaches will be on #asnearaspossibletonature, 3#drootsystem and 3#sustainability, where first results point to the practicability of our efforts using our invented Lego® #BIBLOX. At the forefront of science, we will create urgently required insights into the function of TOL proteins in barley grain development and germination, with the ultimate aim to produce stress resistant barley cultivars and to help to establish barley as future food grain.