Roles of maize PIP2 aquaporins in the structural organization of the cell
The main goal of this project is to understand whether maize aquaporins mediate the interaction of the plasma membrane with other cellular structures and to elucidate the physiological relevance of these interactions.
In this project the researcher will integrate cutting-edge technologies for genome edition with advanced microscopy technologies to study how aquaporins facilitate an efficient response to stimuli by participating in the structural organization of the cell.
The originality of this project is to consider aquaporins as multifunctional proteins: channels and scaffold proteins.
Aquaporins are crucial for plant water homeostasis maintenance, and the project outcomes will directly address the importance of these channels on the cell structure dynamic in response to stress.