Opus 20 – grants for scientists from the UPWr

Prof. Robert Kupczyński received the most for his project – PLN 1,287,608 – which will cover research into new uses of natural compounds, such as essential oils or polyphenolic compounds in animal health, nutrition and environmental protection.

– Essential oils are volatile hydrophobic mixtures of secondary metabolites obtained from plants. We know the biological properties of these compounds, and science has confirmed that their bactericidal and fungicidal properties are the result of a chemical structure. Essential oils are used in health care, the food industry or cosmetology, but they are also more and more often used in livestock production – explains Prof. Robert Kupczyński from the Department of Environmental Hygiene and Animal Welfare at the UPWr.

Oils are therefore used as antimicrobial and antiparasitic agents, which improve the digestibility of feed, but also reduce methane emissions. As part of his project Prof. Kupczyński will deal with the impact of selected essential oils and their mixtures, ennanters and thio-derivatives on the rumen microbiome of cows, biohydrogenation of fatty acids, methanogenesis (in vitro and in vivo) as well as the metabolism and functional properties of milk, including the fatty acid profile and its aroma.

WE ARE STANDING BEFORE A CHANCE TO DISCOVER THE LATEST METHOD OF REDUCING METHANE EMISSION FROM RUMINANTS, WHICH WILL BE SIGNIFICANT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCIENTIFIC BASES OF ANIMAL SCIENCE, MICROBIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS

– We know that there is a simple relationship between the rumen microbial profile and the quantitative and qualitative composition of milk fatty acids. But for the first time we will be able to investigate the effect of relevant essential oils, their dominant optically active ingredients, as well as their thio-derivatives on the rumen microbiome of cows. We will also isolate key strains of rumen bacteria, grow them under anaerobic conditions and confirm their species identity. The model bank of rumen microflora obtained in this way will then be tested in terms of reactions to particular essential oils and their enantiomers – says Prof. Robert Kupczyński, adding that the aim of the research is to redirect the microbiome profile by influencing the number of selected bacterial strains. As a result, by changing the microbiome, the biohydrogenation of fatty acids will change, as well as their content in milk, and cows will also produce less methane, which is a by-product of rumen fermentation.

We have the potential to discover a unique method of reducing methane emissions from ruminants, which will be important for the development of animal science or microbiology, as well as the chemistry of natural products," says Prof. Kupczyński with a smile.

Dr. Piotr Stępień of the Institute of Soil Sciences and Environmental Protection, will receive PLN 751,740 for his research. His project came first in Poland on the NCN ranking of the NZ9 panel – Fundamentals of Applied Life Sciences. He is currently at the University of Manchester, and his research interests include the response of plants to environmental stress such as drought, salinity or extreme temperatures, and the search for ways that can reduce the negative effects of such stress factors.

As Dr. Stępień reminds us, global climate change brings increasingly warmer winters, dry summers, an increase in the frequency of extreme weather phenomena, such as droughts and heat waves on the one hand, and storms and floods on the other. With the growing demand for food, this means new challenges for agriculture and changes in existing farming systems.

Simply put, we will need plants with higher yields, and at the same time able to survive extreme environmental conditions. Plants respond to stress by increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), molecules that damage proteins, lipids and DNA. The main source of ROS in plants under stress is the process of photosynthesis, during which electrons from photosystems may be redirected to molecular oxygen as a result of disturbances – explains Dr. Stępień, adding that plant organisms have developed a comprehensive antioxidant defense system that protects them against damage, but at the same time the operation is associated with a high energy load. An alternative strategy could be to avoid ROS formation by regulating photosynthetic electron transport.

– In our studies using Eutrema salsugineum, a stress-tolerant model species closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana, we have provided evidence of the functioning of a protein called plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) in the chloroplast. This protein acts as an alternative route for photosynthetic electron transport under stress, protecting plants against the increased generation of reactive oxygen species and photo-oxidative damage – says Dr. Piotr Stępień, admitting that this mechanism is not commonly observed in other plant species. Scientists from the UPWr have produced transgenic plants with over-expression of the PTOX protein derived from Eutrema, and are the first in the world to show not only the processes that are necessary to activate this protein, but also indicate the direction of further research, thanks to which an increase in stress tolerance of crop species will be achieved.

THE NEED TO ENSURE CONTINUED FOOD SECURITY IN THE FACE OF A CHANGING CLIMATE IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF PRIORITIES OF BOTH THE EUROPEAN UNION AND GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS DEALING WITH FOOD PRODUCTION

In his project implemented as part of the Opus 20 program, Dr. Stępień will study the role and functioning of plastid end oxidase protein, in particular the factors that enable its redistribution within chloroplast and effectively act as a "safety valve" for photosynthetic electron transport. The team of Dr. Stępień will also check whether the complete PTOX activity can be successfully genetically transferred to another species, increasing its level of stress tolerance.

– And also the need to ensure constant food security in the face of a changing climate, which is important from the point of view of our research, is one of the priorities of both the European Union and global organisations dealing with food production – concludes Dr. Piotr Stępień.

Dr. Jarosław Waroszewski is another scientist from the Institute of Soil Sciences and Environmental Protection, who will also implement a research project under the Opus 20 program – the grant of PLN 792,160 will be used to finance research in volcanic Iceland, and more precisely estimate the rate of soil denudation.

As Dr. Waroszewski explains, the landscape of Iceland after the retreat of the glaciers was intensively transformed due to glacial floods, the activity of catabatic winds and the periodic deposition of volcanic ash (Tefr), released as a result of volcanic eruptions. Deforestation and increased animal grazing, which began shortly after the settlement of Iceland, intensified during the Little Ice Age (1570-1900) and contributed to widespread soil erosion, which was additionally exacerbated by mass processes during colder climatic phases. Iceland's soil cover is dominated by andosols – relatively young soils formed from pyroclastic materials.

– Their specific physical properties (including thixotropy) make them very susceptible to water and wind erosion, especially on slopes. They are also known for their superstructure with material transported by wind and tephras from volcanic eruptions. At the same time, while soil erosion is one of Iceland's greatest environmental challenges, data on specific soil values, especially from pre-settlement, is very limited. As part of this project we hypothesise that the rate of erosion in Icelandic andosols is greater than the rate of accumulation – says Dr. Waroszewski, adding that the rate of erosion is intensified by intense, natural environmental anomalies and changes caused by human activity, which further modifies the evolution of soils.

The research team working on the project assumed that global climate changes have increased the intensity of erosion and catastrophic events, which makes tracking past events and their magnitude in andosols a valuable resource for assessing future erosion risks in sensitive volcanic environments in different regions of the Earth.

– It is a matter of global importance, because volcanic soil is not only found in Iceland – admits Dr. Jarosław Waroszewski.

The multidisciplinary team will therefore also use geomorphological, geophysical, pedological and geochemical tools, as well as palaeobotanical tools, thanks to which past climatic and landscape phenomena, including catastrophic events recorded in andosols, will be recreated.

– We will determine not only the time scale of these events, but also reconstruct the landscape development after the retreat of the glaciers. It is important to understand the rate of denudation of andosols, as these soils contain a large pool of organic matter that can be released much faster due to increased erosion and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming and the catastrophic severe weather events associated with it will lead to an increase in the surface of soil at risk of erosion worldwide, not just in Iceland, therefore understanding the rate of soil redistribution is crucial in planning the regeneration of affected areas and those that are completely, or to a large extent, without vegetation. On the one hand Iceland will let us gain knowledge about the processes of the past, but it will also become a kind of testing ground for the future – says Dr. Jarosław Waroszewski.

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