Investigating the role of exogenous IAA in meristematic activity and xylem tissue formation

• Grant number: 24/01855-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Morphology
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Lischka Sampaio Mayer
• Grantee: Rodrigo Faleiro de Lima
• Supervisor: Marcelo Rodrigo Pace
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/02559-4 - Lignin nanoparticles (NPLs) encapsulating AIA: potential use and its influence on morphophysiology in crops of economic interest, BP.DR

Abstract

As global concerns about climate change continue to intensify, the need for innovative strategies to mitigate its consequences becomes ever more urgent. Nanotechnology emerges as a promising alternative for enhancing crop productivity. The use of nanoparticles can enable the encapsulation of different substances, such as growth regulators (GRs), promoting sustainable release. Auxins are a class of GRs involved in various processes in plant growth and have strong relationships with xylem development and meristematic activity. However, there are still few studies showing the exact ways and timing of their application for leaf aspersion to influence cambial and procambial activities, and consequently, xylem formation. For this, this project aims to anatomically investigate cambial and procambial activities in stem portions treated with IAA encapsulated in lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) as well as in free form via foliar aspersion for 50 days using three different model species (wheat, eucalyptus, and tomato). We will investigate histological sections and quantitative parameters to find standards between the application day of the different solutions and the time of response in xylem development. Also, we aim to identifying if the process of encapsulating auxin in LNPs promotes meristematic activities more efficiently. Lignin nanoparticles labeled with fluorochrome will also be analyzed in a confocal microscope to identify the presence and translocation of nanoparticles in stem portions. The findings of this study hold promise for paving the way for applications of different growth regulators with more precise application in different agricultural crops, amidst a changing climate scenario and population increase.