Two ground-breaking research projects on plant resilience and medicine headed to Palacký University
The organism’s response to stress is the common thread linking two prestigious ERC CZ grants headed to Palacký University. The PLANTONICS project led by Nuria De Diego from the Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute (CATRIN) aims to increase plant resilience and ensure food security, while the MICROTHERM project, awarded to Zdeněk Škrott from the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine (IMTM), is intended to contribute to our understanding of cellular processes important for neurodegenerative and cancerous diseases.
The PLANTONICS project will lay the foundations for a new field of plant theranostics, which will integrate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to increase plant resilience under adverse conditions. Until now, scientists have typically studied plant responses to a single selected stress factor, such as drought, high temperatures, or pathogen infestation. Plant theranostics, on the other hand, will enable a comprehensive approach. It will focus on both biotic stress caused by living organisms, such as pests or diseases, and abiotic stress triggered by factors such as drought, high temperatures, or nutrient deficiency.
“We will create an experimental platform that will enable this approach. This will allow us to identify new biomarkers associated with plant resilience and subsequently translate them into diagnostic and therapeutic tools to increase plants’ tolerance to adverse conditions. We are opening up a new scientific field combining biology, data science, and nanotechnology, which can help mitigate the impacts of adverse conditions on agricultural crops and thereby contribute to food security,” said project lead Nuria De Diego.
Comprehensive research will be supported by cutting-edge technologies
A unique approach will enable the integration of several cutting-edge technologies, including high-throughput phenotyping, metabolomics (analysis of low-molecular-weight compounds), and nanotechnologies based on carbon materials. Researchers will also utilize artificial intelligence for data processing. The research will be conducted on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
The two-year project, which was ranked on the shared 1st to 3rd place in the overall evaluation, received funding of CZK 18.6 million. Projects that had passed the evaluation conducted by expert panels of the European Research Council were eligible to apply for ERC CZ.
“I am delighted and very grateful for the ERC CZ grant. This award means a lot to me because it recognizes the effort, enthusiasm, and creativity that my team and I have put into our research. At the same time, it motivates us to continue advancing plant research, developing new ideas and technologies, and doing what we love most—doing science together,” said De Diego.
The project builds on many years of research
Zdeněk Škrott of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine (IMTM) will be able to use approximately CZK 14.3 million for research into cellular proteostasis—the mechanisms by which cells recognize and process damaged proteins—which he has been studying for over ten years.
According to him, the problem with previous research is that current experimental approaches cannot induce protein damage at a specific location within the cell while simultaneously monitoring the cellular response in real time. Scientists in Olomouc are therefore introducing a new microscopic technology that will overcome these barriers.
“The MICROTHERM project will use a unique method to better understand the early events that determine how cells respond to damaged and aggregated proteins, which can disrupt their functioning. Thanks to this, we can contribute to our understanding of processes important for neurodegenerative and cancerous diseases,” the scientist explained.
Receiving the grant is both a joy and a major commitment for him. “I see it as recognition of the work my colleagues and I have done so far, and at the same time as an opportunity to further develop internationally competitive research at IMTM. The project will allow us to advance our unique method, which opens up new possibilities for studying how cells recognize, repair, and degrade damaged proteins. I also greatly appreciate that the grant will create opportunities for further international collaboration, strengthen our team, and support young scientists at our institute,” the researcher added.
A total of 16 projects received support from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports; these projects aim to significantly push the boundaries of knowledge through their innovative approaches.
