PRE2023-Global-REPaIr: Molecular basis of the Regulation of the Environment-Plant Interactions at Global scale -PID2022-139393OB-I00

Plants exhibit diverse regulatory strategies to survive to changing environments. The ncRNAs regulate gene expression at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. They are responsive to environmental cues and are involved in fine-tuning response to stress. Deciphering the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the interaction plant-environment emerge as one of the priorities for the improvement of crop yield in a scenario conditioned by both the climate change and the new European policies for the regulation of agricultural activity. The general objective of the Global-REPaIr Project is “Achieve a superior level in the knowledge of the regulation of the plant - environment interactions mediated by ncRNAs, at global scale”. This innovative strategy developed in economically relevant crops will allow, the generation of precise knowledge about the regulation of the plant-environment interplay for development of stress-tolerant plants. To address this main objective we planned 4 specific actions: 1) Characterize the regulation of the interaction crop-environment mediated by plant-endogenous tRNA-derived sRNAs and long non-coding transcripts, 2) Analyze the involvement of exogenous (fungi/bacteria-derived) sncRNAs in the cross-specie regulation of the plant-environment interaction, 3) Characterize the role played by miRNAs in the regulation of the response to altered environments, and 4) Optimize the fluidic paper-based devices for detection.