Sant’Anna - 15 days ago

Inside plant cells: how genes perceive oxygen deficiency and regulate their own development m.nardini Tue, 02/03/2026 - 11:33 The study, published in npj Science Plants, is coordinated by the Sant Anna School of Advanced Studies in collaboration with the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology of the National Research Council (CNR): “Thanks to this approach, we can observe how plants react to oxygen variations at the single-cell level.”A greater understanding of the mechanisms through which plants perceive and cope with oxygen deficiency stress can contribute to the development of agricultural crops that are more resistant to difficult environmental conditions such as flooding, compacted soils, or poor aeration.How do plant genes react when oxygen is scarce? The answer comes from a publication in npj Science of Plantscoordinated by the Institute of Plant Sciences at the Sant Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, in collaboration with the NEST Laboratory at the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology at the CNR. The study analyzed gene behavior at the single-cell level. This new approach made it possible to discover which cells are able to perceive changes in oxygen levels and, as a result, modulate gene activity, influencing plant development.

“Thanks to this study, we can observe how plants react to oxygen variations at the single-cell level, paving the way for the identification of key genes that drive growth based on oxygen availability,” explains Paolo Maria Triozzi, researcher at the Institute of Plant Sciences of the Sant Anna School and coordinator of the study.How to overcome the risk of hypoxia in plantsPlants do not always live in oxygen-rich environments: in some parts of their tissues, such as submerged roots or denser inner tissues, a condition of oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) naturally occurs.The research team, coordinated by Triozzi and Prof. Pierdomenico Perata, approached the problem from a new perspective, analyzing the behavior not of plant tissues, but of genes at the single-cell level. This allowed them to discover which genes are able to perceive changes in oxygen levels and, by modulating cell activity, influence plant development.Collaboration with the Scuola Normale and the National Research CouncilThe study is the result of collaboration with researcher Elena Loreti (Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology of the National Research Council in Pisa), an expert in the mechanisms of plant response to hypoxia. The contribution of Prof. Francesco Cardarelli s research group (NEST Laboratory of the Scuola Normale Superiore) was also fundamental, allowing the characterization of gene expression in the root meristem through advanced confocal microscopy techniques.ProspectsThe prospects for this research are particularly relevant in a context of increasingly extreme climate change. A greater understanding of the mechanisms through which plants perceive and cope with oxygen deficiency stress could, in the future, contribute to the development of agricultural crops that are more resistant to difficult environmental conditions such as flooding, compacted soils, or poor aeration.Study referencesSimone Castellana, Francesco Fioriti, Margherita Marazzini, Francesco Cardarelli, Elena Loreti, Pierdomenico Perata Paolo Maria Triozzi, Inferring hypoxia-responsive regulators of cell fate in plant meristems through single-cell transcriptomics, npj Science of Plants (Nature Group), January 2026 Inserisci negli avvisi in Homepage Spento Data pubblicazione Fri, 09/24/2021 - 11:23 Soggetto Innovation and Research Center of Plant Sciences Titolo card Inside plant cells: how genes perceive oxygen deficiency and regulate their own development

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