Our research
The main focus of our research is on understanding how mechanisms of seed resilience and survival in the environment, especially how desiccation tolerance evolved and is regulated at multiple levels. We use a systems level approach, combining experimental physiology, bioinformatics and molecular biology approaches and techniques.
Our ambition is to advance the knowledge on seed resilience by bridging the gap between physiology and evolution of gene regulation.
Evolution of Plant Desiccation Tolerance Regulation
Our main model organism are desiccation tolerant seeds (a.k.a. orthodox seeds) and we focus on the maturation phase of seed development, when desiccation tolerance is acquired.
We use (comparative and phylo-) transcriptomics to:
1) identify gene regulatory networks (GRNs) responsible for desiccation tolerance acquisition during seed development;
2) understand how the transcriptome of desiccation tolerant seeds evolved;
3) investigate how desiccation tolerance-associated genes are regulated at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels (mRNA stability and degradation and protein function);
4) study the evolution, structure and function of desiccation-tolerance associated genes in seeds and resurrection plants.
With the knowledge gained from our research we are contributing with practical applications, with a special focus on improvement of seed storage and overall seed quality.
Our projects
'Fine drying: Seed preparation for the dry state'
Desiccation tolerance is acquired during the maturation phase of seed development, before actual seed drying. In our research we investigate what are the possible regulatory roles of drying on gene expression, mRNA translation and stability and protein structure and function in developing seeds.
This research is funded by the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO-ENW Veni grant, 2020) (https://www.nwo.nl/projecten/viveni202038).
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Ongoing projects on desiccation tolerance:
- The evolution of desiccation tolerance regulation in seeds and resurrection plants (PhD project).
- The role of LEA proteins during seed maturation (MSc projects).
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Natural variation in the regulation of seed desiccation tolerance (BSc projects).
'Seed maturation as a system to understand resilience to high temperature'
During seed maturation other important seed quality traits, such as dormancy, longevity and vigor are acquired. These traits are essential for seed survival and resilience to challenging environments.
In our collaborative project 'HEAT: High temperature Effect on Arabidopsis and Tomato seed quality', funded by the NWO Open Technology Program (Dec, 2022), we investigate how high temperature during seed maturation affects seed survival and overall seed quality.
We combine experimental physiology and several omics approaches to identify the genetic and molecular regulation of high temperature in different seed developmental stages in a model and crop species.
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Project info: https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/open-technology-programme/projects
Members: Prof. dr. Leónie Bentsink (project leader and supervisor), Lars Bakermans (PhD candidate), dr. Mariana A. S. Artur (project supervisor), Jan Kodde (technician).
