Despite various physiological roles of nitric oxide (NO) in plants, knowledge about the mechanisms underlying NO formation and signaling remains scarce. It has been shown that the root specific plasma membrane-bound nitrate reductase (PM-NR) and nitrite:NO reductase (NI-NOR) are involved in NO production during hypoxia and anoxia (Stöhr et al., 2001; Stöhr and Stremlau, 2006).

Our work focuses on a better understanding of the genes and proteins involved in hypoxic stress with emphasis on NO formation and signaling. Using state-of-the-art technologies, such as proteomics, RNA seq. and CRISPR/Cas, in combination with other methods in molecular biology and plant physiology, we aim to find new pieces of the NO formation / signaling puzzle in plants. For specific in vivo localisation of NO distribution in roots we use the fluorescent dye FNOCT (Vandana et al., 2012).

Protoplast from tobacco roots with intact arbuscule, FNOCT dye showing NO localised at membranes