The following
deliverables are from the proposal and MoU of the Action
and were confirmed in the MC1 meeting.
Methods
Month
Description
12
By gathering the major EU experts in
TM visualisation and speciation (incl. small
ligands and metalloproteins), in the first year we
will develop a standardised protocol for
metallomics analyses in plants and associated
microorganisms, published as an online index that
will be updated throughout the action
24
During the PLANTMETALS action a
multi-institutional platform, or an advisory
board, will be created to better direct
researchers to the proper metallomics facilities
and methods to target specific biological
questions while optimising EU resources
48
Throughout the duration of the
project, combined expertise will also lead to
novel technological developments in metal imaging
by X-rays, mass-spectrometry approaches to
metallomics, and analytical biochemistry of metal
complexes. These will be published in scientific
articles with references to them in the online
platform (D1)
48
Limiting availability of synchrotron
beamtime, and the limiting number of platforms
with expertise in HPLC-ICPMS or analytical
biochemistry will be overcome by (i) increasing
success rates of applications to synchrotron
beamtime, (ii) increasing the use of in-house
beamlines and HPLC-ICPMS systems of participants,
(iii) providing feedback in data analyses.
Fundamental Science
48
PLANTMETALS will publish research
articles on new insights how plants deliver TMs to
sink organs, what are beneficial and toxic
interactions of these TMs with plant metabolism,
and how plants defend themselves against
deficiency and toxicity. This will involve
identification and characterisation of metal
transporters, metal-binding proteins and
metalloenzymes
48
PLANTMETALS will contribute to, and
publish in scientific articles, the
characterisation of the role of the microbiome on
plant metal nutrition, and tolerance to toxic
levels, as well as how plants use metals to combat
pathogens
Applied Science
24
General public will be involved
through outreach activities and detailed
information on the outcome of the action through
an online approach (web page, social networks,
press releases, educational material, etc.).
36
We will deposit in an openly
accessible repository a set of synthetic biology
cassettes (genetic constructs) in modular cloning
systems to deliver essential, but not toxic metals
to specific biological processes
48
Knowledge from research articles of
action members will be transferred to the applied
sector as white papers and practical instructions.
They will aid improved breeding and agricultural
management strategies to enhance nutritive value
of crops in the current context of climate change,
as well as reduced environmental pollution by
agriculture
48
PLANTMETALS will help, by publishing
guidelines, breeders and farmers to increase the
content of essential TMs in crops where they are
deficient, while diminishing the uptake of TMs
when they are in excess (incl. essential TMs) or
generally toxic (e.g. Cd, Hg).
48
PLANTMETALS will produce publications
on how to improve phytoremediation via targeted
breeding and/or improved agricultural management
designed
by Hendrik
Küpper, last modified 13 March 2021