Probing Eucalytpus plant performance to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels: the source/sink relationships unveiled by targeted proteomics approach

• Grant number: 18/15035-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• Duration: May 01, 2019 - April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Santana Balbuena
• Grantee: Tiago Santana Balbuena
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/11650-0 - Changes in the protein expression profile of eucalyptus globulus in response to variations in the growth temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, AP.JP
• Associated grant(s): 19/23304-1 - The phosphorylation status of eucalyptus leaf proteins exposed to CO2-enriched atmosphere, AP.R SPRINT
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/08845-9 - Changes in the Eucalyptus leaf phosphoproteome induced by CO2, BP.PD; 19/12580-8 - Assessment of changes in the carbon assimilation rates and lignin biosynthesis in Eucalyptus plants by plant phenotyping and targeted mass spectrometry analysis, BP.DR; 19/17331-6 - Getting deeper into the long-distance signaling of Eucalyptus plants: dynamics of the plant SAP proteome under high CO2 stimulus, BP.DD; 19/15207-6 - Effect of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on the growth of eucalyptus species, BP.IC

Abstract

The last IPCC report predicts a drastic increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This increasing CO2 scenario may be beneficial for most plant species, especially for those employing the C3 photosynthetic pathway as they depend on a high CO2:O2 ratio to counterbalance losses due to photorespiration process. Understanding how key enzymes involved in carbon assimilation respond to an increase in the atmospheric CO2 may assist in genetic engineering strategies that aim to increase photosynthesis and plant yield. In the present proposal, we aim to investigate the source-to-sink relationships in Eucalyptus species challenged by CO2 stimulus. For that, we initially plan to evaluate the plant performance of the most used Eucalyptus plants in Brazil by measuring growth and photoassimilate contents and biomass accumulation. Then, we will specifically monitor the changes in the abundance of the enzymes (and its proteoforms) related to carbon assimilation and lignin biosynthesis by targeted mass-spectrometry analyses. By the end of the project we expect (1) to detect differences in the carbon assimilation and partitioning rates in plants grown upon increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2; (2) to determine the limiting concentration from which the CO2 gas stops eliciting the photosynthetic metabolism and starts acting as an inhibitory agent; (3) to identify reaction bottlenecks of the carbon assimilation and lignin biosynthesis that could be explored as molecular targets for genetic engineering experiments; (4) to expand our knowledge of carbon partitioning in Eucalyptus species. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

JORGE, GABRIEL LEMES; BALBUENA, TIAGO SANTANA. Identification of novel protein-coding sequences in Eucalyptus grandis plants by high-resolution mass spectrometry. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS, v. 1869, n. 3, MAR 2021. (18/15035-8)