"Glutathione in the Olive Plant Reproductive Tissues": The topic of a new Research Projec

The Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness has awarded a new research project to the Plant Reproductive Biology Laboratory. The research project is led by Dr. Juan de Dios Alché and Dr. Jose Carlos Jimenez-Lopez.

ABSTRACT:

Glutathione is a multifunctional metabolite considered essential for plant growth and development. On top of its production through the primary metabolism of C, N and S, it plays functions in defence and detoxification against both biotic and abiotic stresses , and is an important factor for redox signalling. Such functions are little known in detail in plant reproduction, in spite of the fact of alterations in its metabolism resulting in highly significant reproductive phenotypes. The present proposal intends to increase the knowledge about the role of glutathione in olive reproductive biology, and other plants of agronomical interest. First of all, the main components of the gene network controlling generation and levels of glutathione in the mature pollen, gynoecium and olive seed will be studied by means of transcriptomic approaches. In a higher level of resolution, the presence and molecular characteristics of four key enzymes of glutathion metabolism in the olive tree will be studied by means of in silico analysis of their sequence: glutathion synthetase, glutathion reductase, glutathion peroxidase and glutathion S-transferase. These results will be completed by the generation of reliable expression profiles in different reproductive tissues (gynoecium, anthers, pollen, seeds) and at different developmental stages (flower developmental stages previously defined, dehiscent pollen, pollen trhough in vitro germination, mature seeds, hydrated seeds along in vitro germination) by means of multidisciplinary approaches including biochemistry, molecular and cell biology. With the aim of increase our knowledge of the physiological meaning of the selected gene products, we will analyse the effects of their overexpression, organ-tissue-subcellular localization, the phenotypes of the mutagenized/silenced lines, or their ability to complement model organisms like Arabidopsis, from which mutants for these metabolic pathways widely characterised in other aspects are available. Finally, models for the participation of key elements in the control of glutathione metabolism, and their interactions with the metabolism of ROS and NO under different reproductive scenarios will be constructed, as well as models of the putative interaction of of glutathione-S-transferase with the human immune system for the generation of allergies. The present project represents therefore a multidisciplinary proposal combining the knowledge of model species with that of species of agronomic interes, supported by a panel of researchers with wide knowlege in the subject, and the collaboration of different entities, which is detailed in the report. The results generated will mean an advance in our knowledge of this metabolic space, without discarding the possible generation of applications for allergy and the agri-food industries.