Trafficking of proteins to the tonoplast and the effects of abiotic stress

植物为世界提供食物，它们直接为我们提供食物，也间接为牲畜提供饲料。到2024年，世界人口预计将增加到约80亿，这一增长，加上气候变化的影响，将极大地影响全球农业生产。由于发展中国家的大部分作物生长在受干旱和土壤条件恶劣影响的地区，因此对这一地区的研究至关重要，以便开发能够承受这种不利条件的作物。除了抗灾能力外，挑战还在于确保不会对作物产量或质量造成不利影响。植物是无根的生物，必须不断适应周围环境的变化。人类和/或牲畜营养所必需的大多数植物蛋白都是在植物分泌途径中合成和储存的。这是一个动态的、膜结合的细胞器系统，包括内质网（ER）、高尔基复合体、内体和液泡。液泡是分泌途径的细胞内终点。在许多种子作物中，蛋白质储存在称为蛋白质储存液泡（psv）的特殊液泡中。液泡膜，即液泡体，含有水通道蛋白等蛋白质，作为水和小分子运输的通道。迄今为止，还没有明确的机制，通过张力质体相关蛋白运输到这个空泡膜已被描述。本项目旨在阐明沿分泌途径的膜蛋白的分类，以及这种运输在非生物胁迫条件下是如何改变的。这项在模式植物拟南芥中进行的基础研究的结果可以随后转化为可持续作物物种，以实现非生物抗逆性作物的开发。

Plants feed the world, both directly in the food that we eat and indirectly in providing feed for livestock. The world's population is predicted to increase to approximately 8 billion by 2024, and this increase, in combination with the effects of climate change, will greatly affect global agricultural production. Since a major proportion of the developing world's crops are grown in areas affected by drought and poor soil conditions research into this area is paramount in order to develop crops able to withstand such adverse conditions. Alongside being resilient, the challenge is to ensure there are no detrimental effects on crop yield or quality. Plants as sessile organisms have to constantly adapt to the changing conditions of their immediate environment. Most plant proteins essential for human and/or livestock nutrition are synthesised and stored in the plant secretory pathway. This is a system of dynamic, membrane-bound organelles comprising of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi complex, endosomes and vacuoles. Vacuoles are the intracellular endpoint of the secretory pathway. In many seed crops, proteins are stored in special vacuoles called protein storage vacuoles (PSVs). The vacuolar membrane, the tonoplast, contains proteins such as aquaporins that act as channels for the transport of water and small molecules.To date, no definitive mechanism by which tonoplast associated proteins are trafficked to this vacuolar membrane has been described. This project aims to elucidate the sorting of membrane proteins along the secretory pathway to the tonoplast, and how this trafficking is altered under abiotic stress conditions. Results generated from this fundamental research in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana could subsequently be translated into sustainable crop species in order to enable the development of abiotic stress tolerant crops.