The role of amino acid transporters in glutamate signaling in plants (B13)

• Subject Area: Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 267205415

Plants use amino acids such as glutamate as nutrients and signals. Similar to their metazoan counterparts, plants use conserved glutamate receptors, for example for systemic wound signaling. We hypothesize that multiple amino acid transporters are required (i) for creating an extracellular spatial domain that is low in glutamate to allow for effective signaling, (ii) for glutamate secretion, and (iii) for removal of glutamate from the extracellular space to terminate signaling. We will monitor glutamate with the help of genetically encoded glutamate sensors, explore the causes for noxiousness of extracellular glutamate sensors and systematically try to identify transporters involved in signaling.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1208: Identity and Dynamics of Membrane Systems - from Molecules to Cellular Functions
• Major Instrumentation: Droplet digital PCR machine Biorad
• Applicant Institution: Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Wolf-Bernd Frommer