In the context of climate change, Europe is facing new challenges that are threatening food security. There is thus an urgent need for the development of innovative strategies to improve plant tolerance to stress. Notably, recent years have already shown an unusual frequency of heat waves during the summer, a stress condition particularly threatening for yield as it cannot be mitigated in the field. Like many other kinds of stress, heat stress has a detrimental effect on growth due to reduction of the cell division activity in meristems. There is accumulating evidence that this growth reduction depends at least partly on the activation of the plant DNA Damage Response (DDR). The HeatDDR proposal aims at building on the acquired knowledge to decipher the links between the DDR and plant heat stress responses, and to fine-tune these cellular responses in order to allow plant survival without impairing growth. By bringing together groups with complementary expertise and private companies interested in this topic, HeatDDR will combine multiscale approaches including biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, computational biology and plant phenotyping to tackle this question and to train a new generation of scientists specializing in this emerging field. Trainees will work on both Arabidopsis and crops and will thus be aware of different plant models, and on specific challenges associated with breeding. Through the HeatDDR programme, ESRs will receive hands-on training on advanced laboratory techniques and develop transferable skills, thereby ensuring their successful integration on the job market either in the academic or in the non-academic sector, and setting the ground for the construction of European network of collaboration in this field.

The project of CIFP Don Bosco was made up of a total amount of 9 mobility grants: 7 mobilities of vocational Training students in companies abroad and 2 Staff mobilities for training. This has been our first KA102 project and we have made some changes in relation to the number of mobilities, the target countries and the duration. Initially we were granted 8 mobilities, but in the end, we used 7. There were also changes in the target countries; the VET Unit was punctually informed about them. The Project received an early funding of €34.937, 00 but due to the previously mentioned reasons, the executed amount was €31.308, 00 as indicated in the mobility tool.The participating students belonged to the Electromechanics and Telecommunication Installation specialities. The average length of students mobilities was 2 months and 24 days and the aim was to complete the module on the job training. The destination country for the students’ mobilities was Italy The staff mobilities lasted for 5 and 7 days and went to Denmark and Poland.The aim of the project was: 1 To establish collaborations between the educational institution and the European companies in order to enable students to carry out the on the job training module. 2 To encourage teachers to be able to meet the needs of the companies directly.3 To support teachers in updating and improving their professional skills on the purpose of improving the quality of vocational training system.4 To encourage the acquisition of language skills in all participants.5 To increase, in potential students, the attractiveness of vocational training through the internationalization actions of the educational centre.To make the training experience beneficial to the participants. We offered:Practical training: tips to be able to adapt to the destination country and to the training company.Language training: language courses up to 80 hours in extra-curricular time. Socio-cultural training: Group meetings to have access to the cultural background of the destination country.Health and safety training: The use of the European health safety card, the insurance policy managed by the Basque Government as well as the basic rules of safety at work.IMPACT: the project had a very positive impact on the participants ( both students and professors) but, in the near future, it will also benefit the whole educational community, the local companies, and society in general. As a consequence of the participation in these international projects, future workers will be more prepared and able to adapt to new working scenarios.Students improved:- Linguistic and cultural skills- Professional and technical skills.: new technologies and new organizational structures.- Cross-curricular skills: teamwork, decision making, adaptability to new working scenarios, autonomy.- European citizenship awareness.- The employability options.Staff improved:- Professional development.-Linguistic skills.- International collaborations between Don Bosco and international companies.APPLICANTS SELECTION: The process of selection and participation in Erasmus was carried out in compliance with the principles of equal opportunities in a public, transparent and documented way. RECOGNITION: the school certified and validated the mobility with the on the job training module. to students and both the receiving company and the school, certified the staff mobility.DISSEMINATION: It was carried out during all the phases of the project with the collaboration of all the participants in different events and using tools such as D.enok B.atera, the school magazine, social networks and leaflets at the organised events.

Plant cells, living in their cell walls, are immobile and thus tightly control growth to shape their organs and bodies. Mechanical properties of the cell wall are modulated by pH, which is governed by the activity of plasma membrane proton ATPases. The central regulator of plant growth, phytohormone auxin, regulates gene transcription. My team and I have significantly contributed to recent discoveries of additional auxin signaling pathways that act rapidly, in a non-genomic manner. Surprisingly, all auxin signaling pathways converge on the regulation of ion fluxes and cell wall pH. The central hypothesis of the MORpH project is that the rapid regulation of cell wall pH by auxin plays a fundamental role in plant development. I propose that rapid auxin responses controlled by the TIR1/AFB auxin receptors participate in the morphogenesis of the above-ground plant body and that these receptors also drive rapid responses in grasses. In this project, I will reveal the identity of molecular components of the AFB1-driven cytoplasmic auxin pathway using a forward genetic screen and protein proximity labeling approaches, exploiting the unique genetic material of my team. I will address the role of the rapid cytoplasmic auxin responses in the development of above-ground organs of the Arabidopsis model plant. By embracing a new model system relevant to cereals, Brachypodium distachyon, I will elucidate the significance of rapid auxin responses in grasses. Finally, using a combination of live-cell imaging, proteomics, and genetics, I will analyze and manipulate cell wall pH dynamics during key plant morphogenetic events, and discover the regulatory mechanisms underlying cell wall acidification. The MORpH project will uncover novel fundamental roles of rapid auxin signaling in morphogenesis, and at the same time will expand my research toward plant models relevant to cereal crops.

STARMORPH is a ground-breaking endeavour with the ambitious goal of understanding plant organ morphogenesis, which will pave the way to engineering plant growth. This is of paramount importance for enhancing agricultural and forestry yields and hence contributing to global food security and environmental sustainability. Plant organ morphogenesis involves differential growth, where various organ parts expand at different rates to create specific structures. A significant challenge lies in understanding these differential growth programs while considering the mechanical constraints imposed by the tissues. The plant hormone auxin plays a central role in differential growth. It forms concentration gradients within tissues, dictating the direction and rate of cell expansion. Mechanistically, auxin can either repress or promote growth in a tissue and concentration-dependent manner, but this biphasic behaviour remains largely unexplained. The extracellular space, cytosol, and nucleus have distinct auxin perception mechanisms and hence STARMORPH pitches an "auxin signature" concept, considering nuanced auxin levels in each compartment specifying an ensemble signal with quantitative and qualitative cell responses for morphogenesis. Currently, auxin subcellular compartmentalisation is poorly understood, and a key focus of the project is to provide a subcellular map of auxin dynamics within a growing organ to uncover how tissue mechanics interact with auxin-dependent growth processes, which will be pivotal for understanding plant morphogenesis. The STARMORPH project leverages a unique combination of plant, cell and synthetic biology, genetics, biophysics and organic chemistry expertise. This interdisciplinary collaboration aims to dissect plant morphogenesis from molecular to organ scales and has the potential to revolutionise our understanding of plant growth and development, with applications in biotechnology and plant engineering.