Does wounding trigger shoot-to-root communication through interaction between cryptochrome 1a and jasmonates in tomato?

• Grant number: 24/00224-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Rogério Falleiros Carvalho
• Grantee: Rogério Falleiros Carvalho
• Host Investigator: Robert Cornelis Schuurink
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands

Abstract

From germination to flowering, it has been shown that phytohormones are involved in light signaling. For example, it was shown that phytochromes, which absorb red and far-red light, signal via jasmonates (JAs) in the control of wounding responses, one of the most worrisome issues in many crops. Thus, considering the wide range of the light spectrum, it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that other photoreceptors participate in light perception to modulate wounding responses. For example, blue light seems to be an important signal that modulates wounding responses, including by means of JA action, but it is not yet known which and how blue light photoreceptors, such as cryptochromes (crys), are part of this response. Thus, considering the well-known effect of blue light and JA along the shoot-to-root communication, especially for the wounding response, we are hypothesizing that blue light modulates the wounding response through the interaction with JA. To address this, experiments will be conducted along two approaches using tomato: (i) grafting of cry mutants and (ii) the use of exogenous JA or its inhibitor. Phenotypical, biochemical, and molecular analysis will be performed to confirm or reject the hypothesis.