Interview with PROMISOL: Project PROCLIMADP with CDTI PID
Interview with PROMISOL: PROCLIMADP and CDTI PID
PROMISOL is developing PROCLIMADP with funding from CDTI Research and Development Projects (PID), a project focused on the development of an advanced biostimulant for legume crops. The solution combines amino acids and antioxidant ingredients and proposes a precision proteostasis approach, compared with conventional strategies based mainly on osmoregulation.
In this interview, the PROMISOL team explains how PROCLIMADP emerged from its collaboration with the University of Granada. They also discuss what differentiates their proposal from current solutions and the role of signalling mechanisms, membrane stability and protein repair. In addition, they address their joint work with the AGR-282 research group at the University of Granada and their experience with Evolution Europe during the funding process.
1. How is heat stress affecting crops, and what limitations have you identified in the solutions currently available to address this problem?
Heat stress poses a different challenge from other types of stress, as plants prioritise reducing water loss by closing the stomata in their leaves. This reduces nutrient uptake and gas exchange, but also the uptake and transport of applied biostimulants. Put simply, the plant “closes itself off”, enters resistance mode and focuses on enduring the conditions until the heatwave passes. As a result, the movement of water and any solutes within the plant is also drastically reduced.
Current products on the market are based on molecules that act directly on osmotic balance, but they are of limited use because their ingredients are not properly distributed throughout the plant. Our proposal is not based on molecules that act directly on the effects of stress. Instead, it includes signalling ingredients that activate mechanisms for membrane stabilisation and the repair of proteins damaged by heat.
2. How did PROCLIMADP come about, and what led you to focus the project specifically on developing a solution for heat stress?
The project emerged following the completion of an industrial PhD between Promisol and the University of Granada, during which a highly effective biostimulant against water stress, salt stress and the combination of both was developed. During the PhD, it became clear that when heat is the predominant form of stress, the approach needs to be completely different.
3. The project combines antioxidant ingredients and amino acids. What are you aiming to achieve through this combination, and how do you expect it to help mitigate the effects of heat stress on crops?
Some amino acids act as precursors and signalling molecules in the synthesis of antioxidants, such as phenylpropanoids. In addition, their interaction with certain plant hormones enhances defence mechanisms. These amino acids help minimise some of the damage, but they do not cover the full range of injuries caused by heat stress, which is why we are studying additional antioxidants.
4. One of the project’s differentiating aspects is the shift from strategies focused on osmoregulation towards a precision proteostasis approach. What does this approach involve, and how does it compare with current solutions?
Osmoregulation is useful but insufficient. Extreme heat damages photosystems and membranes, while osmolytes only reduce water loss. However, they do not contribute to the stability of membranes and proteins or to their repair.
5. What role does the University of Granada play in the project, and what does this collaboration bring to the development of PROCLIMADP?
The collaboration with the AGR-282 research group began with the industrial PhD. This group is well established in the field of Crop Physiology and Crop Science and, in addition to its highly qualified staff, has growth chambers and its own laboratory for studying the most relevant parameters in cases of abiotic stress: photosynthetic efficiency, membrane stability, gas exchange, and nutrient and water use efficiency.
