Flooding and waterlogging of soil are severe stress conditions that have detrimental effects in plants and affect the crop yields in agricultural systems. Flooding stress causes hypoxia that induces perturbations in the mitochondrial respiratory metabolism and a concomitant activation of the so-called mitochondrial dysfunction response. The regulation of plant stress resilience is tightly connected to the plant developmental program. In this research, I will investigate the regulation of flooding tolerance in young seedlings. The mitochondrial dysfunction response and the underlying regulatory mechanisms will be studied in the model plant thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as well as in an economically important crop oilseed rape (Brassica napus). This research will increase our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate stress resilience in plant seedlings and helps in the future breeding of more resilient crops species.

2022

2025