Seed Grant: Green leaf volatile regulation of carbohydrate metabolism as a key element in cold protection.

Green leaf volatiles (GLV) have been mostly associated with the regulation of defense responses. in particular defense priming. in plants. However. we found that GLV are also regulators of abiotic stress responses and for example protect against cold stress damage. Plants that were treated with GLV at physiological concentrations showed less cold damage and retained normal growth while untreated plants showed severe damage and growth reduction under the same conditions. We have further identified GLV- and cold-inducible sets of genes. which appear to be involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Activated by GLV these genes may play an important role in the production of specific carbohydrates that provide protection as well as stimulate growth in plants when under cold stress. The project aims towards a molecular characterization of how GLV affect carbohydrate metabolism resulting in a better cold protection by characterizing novel molecular mechanism resulting in the sequential mobilization of carbohydrates. As such GLV may serve as a low-cost protection without negatively affecting growth and may therefore provide a novel approach to generate cold-resistant plants for agriculture. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanism may eventually enable us to utilize this knowledge by selecting lines with enhanced protection through endogenously produced GLV and to incorporate this trait into major crops thereby increasing food security in the US. but also world-wide.