Group leader: Elena Monte

Research project:

Strategies for photoprotection in a changing climate

Light is not only necessary for photosynthesis but it also informs and impacts plant development, metabolism and physiology. Light is thus central for plant fitness and many traits of agricultural importance. The current climate change is reducing the cloud cover causing an increase in the light intensity reaching us. How plants are affected is beginning to be explored, and it involves complex pathways for photoprotection. Chloroplasts act as antenna for high light, and retrograde chloroplast-to-nucleus inter-organellar communication is necessary to initiate photoprotection mechanisms, which involve chromatin remodeling, transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. We use the microalgae Chlamydomonas and the model plant Arabidopsis as a duo for comparative biology to dissect the mechanisms involved. The PhD student will join the research lines in our laboratory to further advance in these strategies for photoprotection. The research project involves national and international collaborations for an interdisciplinary methodology including cutting-edge cell imaging, lighting technology, and art-based approaches.

Key publication

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.14.524044v1.full

Potential collaborations with other research groups

Potential collaborations with associated partners

• Kumux
• Centre for Mathematical Research (CRM)
• BAU College of Arts&Design

More information