Séminaire IBIP
Les séminaires ont lieu sur le Campus Montpellier SupAgro/INRA de La Gaillarde (2, place P. Viala Montpellier)

Lundi 29 mai 2017
Salle 11/104 (Château) à 14h

 

The art of being flexible in times of stress

Christa Testerink
University of Amsterdam – Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences – Plant Cell Biology – Science Park 904 – room C2.209 – 1098XH Amsterdam – c.s.testerink@uva.nl
uva.nl/profile/c.s.testerink, sils.uva.nl/pcb, gls.uva.nl

Abstract
Salt stress is one of the major threats for modern agriculture, and exposure to salt alters root architecture. Yet genes underlying salinity-induced changes in Root System Architecture (RSA) remain to be identified. We examined natural variation among 347 Arabidopsis accessions in root development under salt stress and identified different root plasticity ideotypes. Furthermore, salt induced changes in RSA were associated with 100 genetic loci using genome-wide association study (GWAS). Validation of selected novel genetic loci shows a role for regulation of ion transport in early stages of root development, which affects plant performance in saline soils.

Description of research focus
Christa Testerink‘s research is focused on cellular signalling in plant stress and development. She investigates the molecular and cellular basis of the plant’s response to stress: How are signal transduction cascades organised in the cell and how do they lead to changes in the plant’s development and stress tolerance? C. Testerink approaches this subject from different angles, ranging from biophysics of protein-lipid interactions, to cellular signalling and worldwide natural variation in plant stress responses. In particular, she focuses on the effects of salinity and drought, and more recently also nutrient starvation, on root system architecture.


Contacts IBIP :
Sabine Zimmermann
Alexandre Martinière
Christine Granier
Chantal Baracco