Project properties
Title Understanding the circadian clock gating in drought-stressed potatoes
Group Plant Breeding, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 36
Supervisor(s) Lucia Sandra Perez Borroto (WUR)
Examiner(s) Lucia Sandra Perez Borroto (WUR)
Contact info L.S Perez Borroto (lucia.perezborroto@wur.nl)
Begin date 2024/03/01
End date 2024/09/01
Description Potato rank as the third most crucial crop globally, playing a pivotal role in food security. Their yield, significantly influenced by environmental factors such as photoperiod and water availability, relies on complex biological networks. Notably, tuber formation and flowering in potatoes involve pathways regulated by circadian and diel oscillators. Under non-stressing growing conditions, tuberization is mainly controlled by circadian regulators. In contrast, during drought, experimental evidence suggests that the tuber induction pathway deviates from the conventional model. Thus, the present thesis proposal aims to investigate the changes in potato circadian clock and diel regulators involved in the regulation of tuberization under optimal and water deficit conditions.

The approach involves comparative analyses at molecular and morphophysiological levels conducted under different photoperiodic and irrigation regimes. These experiments will be carried out in climate-controlled compartments using non-GMO material previously propagated in vitro. RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, PCR/qPCR, and RNA-seq analysis will be conducted in combination with measurements of plant gas exchange and photosynthesis with LICOR Li6800.

The outcomes of this research will contribute to the Horizon 2020 project ADAPT “Accelerated Development of multiple-stress tolerant Potato” (ADAPT (univie.ac.at))
Used skills ability and disposition to work at climate-controlled greenhouse, molecular and tissue culture labs, basic knowledge in data analysis and use of R
Requirements BSc in plant science or equivalent