Executive Summary : | The study aims to investigate the role of jasmonate (JA) in tomato flower development under cold stress. Tomatoes are highly cultivated crops, with annual production of about 160 million tons. Cold stress is a significant abiotic factor that affects plant survival and geographical distribution. This collaborative effort aims to understand the role of JA in tomato flower development under cold stress.
The research will involve germinating seeds in trays filled with vermiculite, sand, and soil mix at 25°C, and then subjecting them to cold stress during flowering. The plants will be treated with MeJA methyl jasmonate and a JA-insensitive mutant jai1-1 line as an additional control. Protein extraction will be performed from gametophytic flower organs carpels and stamen, and differentially expressed proteins will be analyzed. Phenotyping, transcript profiling, and hormone profiling of reproductive tissues will also be conducted.
The project will provide insights into the role of JA in tomato flower development under cold stress, which can be used to improve commercial tomato lines under cold stress. Both India and Germany's research groups will collaborate on this project, with the aim of building a functional collaboration between the two groups. The research will involve two junior researchers, PhD students, and young postdoctoral researchers. |