Het benutten van flavonolen ter verbetering van de reproductieve thermotolerantie van tomaat (Solanum lycopersicum)

Production of seed and fruit crops depends on successful sexual reproduction. Plant sexual reproduction involves development of pollen grains and delivery of sperm cells within the pollen grains to the female gametophyte through the growth of a pollen tube. Pollen development and tube growth are highly sensitive to heat stress. Increases in temperatures linked to climate change will thus undermine crop yields. A hallmark of heat stress is increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Overaccumulation of ROS leads to oxidative stress, which impairs normal plant growth and development. However, localized production of basal ROS levels drives signaling pathways involved in normal plant developmental and physiological processes. To maintain ROS at levels conducive to signaling, plants use diverse enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant machineries. Flavonols are a class of plant specialized metabolites with potent ROS scavenging activity. It was previously reported that flavonols prevent ROS from reaching inhibitory levels at normal and increased temperatures, thereby promoting pollen viability and tube growth. It is however largely unknown where and when ROS and flavonols are synthesized in developing pollen and surrounding tissues if ROS and flavonol biosynthesis is regulated by heat stress in these tissues and if flavonols act as ROS scavengers during pollen development. This PhD project will study ROS and flavonol accumulation and biosynthetic pathways in response to heat stress in developing anthers and pollen grains.