Name

Klaus Mayer

Email

mayer@ksu.edu.sa

Address

Dept. of Botany & Microbiology, College of Science, Building (5)

Office: 2B33

Telephone: 4677257

Project Title

Transcriptome based systems biology of drought and salt stress in Phoenix dactylifera and Atriplex halimus

Project Summary

Plants have adopted to a wide range of environments and have developed/evolved molecular mechanisms that allow them to cope with harsh environments. While cultured crops in moderate environments show allelic and SNV caused variations in their adaptation to particular environmental stresses adaptation to extremes is uncommon. To gain understanding of underlying molecular mechanisms that allow “extremophile” plants to cope with harsh conditions studying the functional molecular output and constrasting it with functional response of molecular circuits in moderate conditions will allow to gain an understanding of molecular circuits that have evolved or have been adopted to cope with environmental stresses. A functional understanding will allow insights into evolutionary constraints, molecular circuits, mechanisms and strategies of Phoenix dactylifera and Atriplex halimus to cope with environmental challenging conditions. These new insights will be form an important foundation for improved breeding and cultivation of date palm and might as well trigger new insights and developments for targeted adaptation for crops in moderate climates.