Understanding the water deficit responses of forage species Panicum maximum in the face of global climate change

• Grant number: 23/02414-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Regular Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Nathalia de Setta Costa
• Grantee: Nathalia de Setta Costa
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Anselmo Nogueira ; Danilo Trabuco do Amaral ; Maria Magdalena Rossi ; Wagner Rodrigo de Souza
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07773-0 - Development of genetic tools for adaptation of the forage grass Panicum maximum to water stress in the face of global climate change, BP.PD

Abstract

Global climate change has challenged the agricultural sector, reflecting negatively on the efficiency of production systems. Of the affected chains, forage production has been impacted, among other factors, by the alternation between severe droughts and floods in recent years. Panicum maximum is the second most cultivated forage grass species in Brazil, being used as forage in conventional and integrated production systems. It has good acceptance by herds, high yield, and digestibility. However, to achieve this good yield, P. maximum needs mild climates, as it has low to moderate drought tolerance. Several cultivars of P. maximum have been developed through conventional breeding, however, it is still necessary to understand its genetic basis of response to water stress, to help the development of cultivars more tolerant to the global climate changes. The main objective of this proposal is to study P. maximum responses to water deficit, including its yield, physiology responses, and gene expression profiles. The results will allow to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the water deficit responses, enabling the development of genetic engineered cultivars. Obtaining drought tolerant cultivars will make it possible to replace forage species with lower digestibility, such as brachiaria, with P. maximum, thus reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. (AU)