NCN OPUS grant for research on the genetic regulation of plant shoot architecture

09 12 2025

Dr hab. Rafał Archacki from the Department of Systems Biology, Institute of Experimental Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology UW, has received funding from the National Science Centre (NCN) in the amount of 3,473,600 PLN under the OPUS 29 call for the project entitled “The role of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in regulating shoot architecture in Arabidopsis and barley”.

The number and distribution of lateral shoots are among the main factors that determine the productivity of crop plants, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for regulating these traits are still relatively poorly understood. According to current knowledge, plant architecture is shaped by developmental programs driven by different transcriptional regulators and plant hormones, among which strigolactones are thought to play a particularly important role.

Preliminary results obtained in Archacki group suggest that the BRM protein, a subunit of the nuclear SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, may be involved in the control of lateral shoot formation. SWI/SNF complexes are known regulators of various developmental programs as well as plant responses to stresses and phytohormones.

The project aims to investigate the role of the SWI/SNF complex associated with the BRM protein in controlling the formation of lateral shoots, including its connections with the strigolactone signalling pathway. Research will be conducted in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) and in the crop species Hordeum vulgare (barley).

The project will broaden our knowledge of the molecular basis of plant architecture in both dicot and monocot species. It will also provide new barley mutants that will become an important tool for further studies on the function of the SWI/SNF complexes in cereal crops.

We sincerely congratulate both researchers on obtaining funding and wish them valuable results and success in obtaining funds for future projects!

Details of the OPUS 29 call are available on the NCN website:
https://www.ncn.gov.pl/konkursy/wyniki/2025-11-28-opus-preludium