During evolution, plants have acquired systems enabling them to adapt to adverse environmental conditions, including responses to mechanical signals or ‘touching’. Plants use such mechanical cues to detect e.g. herbivores, wind, neighbouring plants or to find supports to climb on. The plant response to biotic and abiotic stress has been studied for many years, but the molecular mechanism controlling touch-signalling in plants is not well understood. Plants subjected to regular touching show reduced growth and development, called ‘thigmomorphogenesis’. On the other hand, the plants can become more resistant to insect pests and pathogens. Interestingly, many genes are induced at the mRNA- and protein level within a few minutes after being touched. Recently, our lab found that touch signalling is controlled by multiple complementary signalling pathways. In the proposed work we will study candidate components of the early touch-signalling cascade such as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and plasma-membrane Ca2+ channels, as we suspect that they play a crucial role in the early touch-signalling cascade. We will use genetic tools to knock out genes and study the response of these mutants to touch stimulation in comparison to WT with regards to gene expression, phosphorylation cascades and alteration in growth and development. The student will learn a wide range of molecular and physiological techniques.
If you are interested, please contact Olivier Van Aken (olivier.van_aken@biol.lu.se) for more information.