Linking biomolecular condensates with nutrient signaling and epigenome dynamics in Arabidopsis

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

Plants are very important because they provide us with food, fuel, and medicine. However, climate change and other environmental challenges constantly threaten their growth and yield. Therefore, it's crucial to create "climate resilient crops" that can adapt to changing climate conditions to support sustainable agriculture. The goal of this project is to understand how plants use biomolecular condensates - microscale compartments found in all forms of life - to sense their environment and reprogram their epigenomes to achieve fitness, resilience, and productivity under stress. The results of this study could lead to new ways to engineer biomolecular condensates to improve nutrient allocation, growth, and stress resistance - major determinants of crop yield and renewable energy production vital to human health and global environment. In addition, this project will have a significant educational impact by advancing science discovery to the public and training students and scientists. Another impact of this project will be the creation of outreach events to share the research with the public, including science stations for K-12 students and summer science camp for high school students from Missouri and southern Illinois. Biomolecular condensates are emerging as key players in sensing and translating environmental signals to direct diverse cellular functions. While many studies have focused on the physical properties and molecular compositions of biomolecular condensates, much less is known about how they form and contribute to cellular function under stress – particularly in plants. This project is poised to significantly enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying nutrient-induced biomolecular condensates and their biological roles in epigenetic reprogramming and plant developmental transitions. Specifically, this project will investigate diverse nutrient and environment signals that trigger EARLY BOLTING IN SHORTDAY (EBS) condensate assembly, dissect the mechanism by which TOR signaling regulates EBS condensates, and determine the biological roles of EBS condensates in epigenome dynamics and floral transition. Findings from this project will offer important insights into how different signaling pathways interact with biomolecular condensates and chromatin dynamics to regulate cellular functions. Given the importance of biomolecular condensates and epigenetic regulation in many biological processes, understanding how these condensates reprogram the epigenome to cope with the various stresses is a fundamental question relevant to both plants and animals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.