PRIMER‘s vision is a future where crops maintain productivity despite rising temperatures.
The project’s vision is to enable heat-resilient tomato cultivation worldwide through scientific innovation that drives sustainable, climate-smart agriculture.
PRIMER’s mission:
- Decode the biological processes behind heat-induced priming.
- Harness genetic variation to support future tomato breeding.
- Build predictive models that anticipate plant behaviour under heat stress.
- Develop priming solutions that can be implemented in breeding pipelines or agricultural practice.
- Train 12 doctoral candidates
Crop priming as a driver of climate-resilient agriculture
PRIMER is fundamentally focused on tomato as its core research system, reflecting its agricultural importance, nutritional value and sensitivity to heat stress. All scientific objectives are defined around improving heat resilience in tomato and delivering knowledge that is directly relevant to crop performance.
In addition, selected PRIMER research groups use Arabidopsis thaliana as a complementary model to address specific mechanistic questions that are difficult to resolve directly in crops. This targeted use enables rapid mechanistic insight, which directly informs tomato-focused research and supports the development of heat-resilient crop strategies with broader relevance.
1. Decoding the Biological Basis of Priming
Investigating how priming reshapes gene expression, metabolism, and cellular behaviour in tomato and Arabidopsis plants exposed to heat stress. Through genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and live-cell imaging, PRIMER uncovers the molecular and cellular processes that enable plants to “remember” earlier stress and respond more robustly during subsequent heat events
2. Harnessing Natural Genetic Diversity
Tomato varieties exhibit wide variation in priming capacity. PRIMER systematically explores genetic diversity to identify alleles, regulatory elements, and pathways associated with effective priming. This knowledge provides a foundation for future breeding efforts and offers new entry points for improving thermotolerance
3. Developing Predictive Computational Models
To integrate insights across scales, PRIMER builds computational models that simulate plant responses under different heat-stress scenarios. By merging physiological data, multi-omics datasets, and environmental information, these models reveal key drivers of resilience and help predict the outcomes of specific priming interventions. They also serve as decision-support tools for breeders and researchers.
4. Designing and Testing Priming Interventions
Drawing on mechanistic insights and predictive modelling, PRIMER develops novel genetic, chemical, and physiological priming strategies. These interventions are evaluated in controlled experiments and, when relevant, validated under realistic growth conditions. The aim is to create robust, scalable approaches that enhance thermotolerance without compromising yield.
5. Training the Next Generation of Experts
A central part of PRIMER’s approach is the comprehensive training of 12 doctoral candidates. Through hands-on research, cross-sectoral exchanges, and advanced courses, they gain expertise in molecular biology, cell biology, imaging, computational science, and crop physiology. This ensures long-term impact by equipping future researchers with the skills needed to address climate-related agricultural challenges.