Does hypoxia reverse the ScRAV1 transcription factor-induced downregulation in aerenchyma formation in sugarcane roots?

• Grant number: 24/20727-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Silveira Buckeridge
• Grantee: Arthur Vanni Lopes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Global climate change, primarily driven by increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, has caused serious impacts on terrestrial ecosystems and agriculture. Among the mitigation strategies, bioenergy, particularly bioethanol production from sugarcane, emerges as a viable alternative. Brazil leads the world in sugarcane ethanol production, a crop adapted to adverse conditions and with high productivity. First-generation (1G) ethanol is produced from the fermentation of sugarcane juice, while second-generation (2G) ethanol uses lignocellulosic residues, facing challenges such as the recalcitrance of plant cell walls. In this context, understanding the structure and composition of the cell wall is crucial to improving the efficiency of 2G bioethanol production. The formation of aerenchyma in sugarcane roots is a relevant study focus, as it involves cell wall modification processes that may be important for understanding how to access the different sugars in plant biomass. Aerenchyma is characterized as a specialized tissue that facilitates gas diffusion under stress conditions such as hypoxia. Studies indicate that aerenchyma can occupy about 40% of the root cortex in sugarcane, modulating its intensity according to environmental stress. The ScRAV1 transcription factor negatively regulates aerenchyma formation in sugarcane roots. However, it is still unknown whether this transcription factor responds to environmental variations that modify oxygen concentration in the soil. Therefore, deepening the knowledge of cell wall degradation and aerenchyma formation mechanisms may contribute to improving the efficiency of 2G bioethanol production, as well as offer new strategies for plant adaptation to climate change and environmental stresses.