Increasing the resilience of crops

Plants depend on large cellular compartments called vacuoles to store nutrients, regulate water balance, and survive environmental stress. However, little is known about how plants protect these vital structures when conditions become unfavorable. Recent work uncovered a previously unknown cellular defense mechanism, termed Vacuolar Quality Control, which helps maintain vacuolar integrity under stress. In this ASTRA project, Jose Julian Valenzuela will be investigating how this mechanism enables plants to cope with alkaline soils, a growing agricultural challenge driven by climate change and unsustainable land use. By studying both model plants and climate-resilient crops such as quinoa, he aims to reveal new strategies that could contribute to more resilient agriculture in the future.