Three Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 researchers receive Open Competition ENW-M grant
Grant supports creative and risky ideas
Three researchers at the Faculty of Science of Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 have been awarded an Open Competition ENW-M-1 grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). M-grants offer researchers the possibility to elaborate creative and risky ideas and to realise scientific innovations that can form the basis for research themes of the future. ENW-M-1 grant have a maximum size of 400,000 euro.
Prof. dr. Marc Baldus
(Gert Folkers will be project leader)
Studying proteins @ work in cells using magnetic resonance
In all cells, proteins are essential building blocks that are needed to execute and change cellular functioning. For a long time, it has been known that many proteins can change their conformation (spatial arrangement), but if and how this occurs inside the cell has been difficult to follow. This project will develop a Magnetic resonance (NMR)-based approach to directly probe at atomic scale how dynamic proteins change conformations during cellular function.
This grant will allow us to use the latest advancements in cell biology and NMR to study how protein conformations change inside human cells.
Dr. Dmitry Lapin
RECUP: Plant recovery after an immune response
Plants have an immune system that helps them detect and fight off harmful microbes and other invading organisms, but this defense comes at the cost of damaged tissue and stunted growth. This can occur even in resistant plants that effectively stop infection. However, little is known about how plants recover afterward. We aim to uncover how plants bounce back after immune responses. By studying changes in plant growth, identifying key recovery genes, and exploring important recovery processes, we aim to enable solutions to help crops recuperate better from infections, making them more resilient.
By uncovering new genetic and molecular pathways for plant recovery after immune responses, this fundamental research could pave the way for more sustainable crop cultivation strategies.
Prof. dr. Rashmi Sasidharan
Every cloud has a silver lining: how root flooding prepares the plant for future low oxygen stress in the shoot
Seeds are a major part of our food consumption. They are produced by the plant鈥檚 flowers, originating from the shoot meristem. Plants protect their shoot meristem against harsh environmental changes to ensure reproductive success. In this project we will investigate how flooding of the root is able to protect the shoot meristem for future low oxygen stress in the shoot. A root-derived signal can potentially warn the shoot to activate a mechanism for protection of the shoot meristem. Elucidating this protection mechanism will contribute to making plants weather-resistant to flooding, an important goal considering our rapidly changing climate.
Roots are the 鈥渇irst responders鈥 in flooded plants - sensing the stress and sending warning signals to other plant parts. This grant will help us to study these long-distance signals and how they mediate flood protection.