Objective
As climate change intensifies, drought has emerged as one of the most severe abiotic stresses, significantly reducing crop yield. Reducing yield loss of crops is crucial by rethinking agriculture to ensure food security. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), a major legume with high nutritional and several health benefits, is integral to the diets of millions and contributes to sustainable agriculture. However, chickpea faces significant annual yield losses (~50%) due to drought. The root exodermis, a specialized cell layer, plays a crucial role in water retention and protects against pathogens through cell wall barrier deposition. Despite its significance, the mechanisms governing exodermal barrier formation remain poorly understood, due to its absence in the model plant Arabidopsis. Recent findings from the host lab revealed that desi and kabuli chickpea varieties exhibit dynamic inducible and constitutive exodermal barriers differentiation, respectively. My objective is to investigate the underlying mechanism governing these exodermal responses and differentiation. First, I aim to elucidate the gene regulatory networks controlling this exodermal barrier formation through advanced transcriptomic approaches, involving single cell transcriptomic and time-course RNA-seq. These will reveal the developmental and stress-responsive pathways that orchestrate barrier formation. Second, I will test the role of key transcription factors (TFs)/genes through genetic modifications via hairy root transformation, molecular interaction and promoter activity assays. This will provide insights into how these regulators regulate this barrier differentiation, and stress response that impact barrier traits. The novel insights gained from this proposal will not only advance our understanding of cell-type-specific stress responses, but facilitate its translation for targeted breeding strategies aim at enhancing stress resilience and improving crop yield.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds legumes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.