Functions of Conserved Oomycete Effector Proteins

保守卵菌效应蛋白的功能

• 批准号: 0744875
• 负责人: John McDowell
• 金额: $ 48万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-05-15 至 2012-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0744875&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Functions; Conserved; Oomycete; Effector; Proteins

Oomycete plant pathogens cause extremely destructive diseases on crops and in natural ecosystems. Little is known about the molecular weapons that enable oomycetes to be such successful pathogens. Analyses of four recently completed oomycete genomes suggest that oomycetes export dozens or hundreds of their own 'effector' proteins to the interior of plant cells. These pathogen effectors are expected to sabotage plant immune responses and trigger other effects that benefit the pathogen. However, almost nothing is known about the molecular functions of oomycete effectors. This project will investigate the functions of six pairs of effectors that are conserved between two distantly related oomycetes: the Arabidopsis downy mildew pathogen Hyaloperonospora parasitica and the soybean root rot pathogen Phytophthora sojae. It is expected that a focus on conserved effectors will reveal insights that are applicable to the majority of oomycete pathogens. The investigators will perform a series of molecular genetic experiments to determine whether these effectors are capable of suppressing plant immunity or altering plant cell structure or physiology, and whether the pathogen's ability to cause disease is affected when these genes are silenced or overexpressed. Finally, one pair of conserved proteins will be selected for experiments to identify their exact targets inside plant cells. These experiments are expected to reveal important, broadly conserved molecular strategies that underpin oomycetes' ability to cause disease, which will in turn open new avenues toward more sophisticated disease control strategies. The project will provide multidisciplinary training for graduate students and undergraduates. Some aspects of the project will be collaboratively integrated with an outreach program at Virginia Tech that uses Arabidopsis reverse genetics in high school science classrooms.

卵巢植物病原体在农作物和自然生态系统上引起极度破坏性疾病。 关于使卵菌成为如此成功的病原体的分子武器知之甚少。 对最近完成的四个Oomycete基因组的分析表明，Oomycetes将数十个或数百种自己的“效应子”蛋白出口到植物细胞的内部。 这些病原体效应子有望破坏植物的免疫反应，并触发其他有益于病原体的作用。 然而，几乎一无所知。 该项目将研究六对效应子的功能，这些效应子是在两个远距离相关的卵巢之间保守的：拟南芥降雨病原体透明质球寄生虫和大豆根腐病原体病原体植物病原体sojae。 可以预期，关注保守效应子将揭示适用于大多数卵菌病原体的见解。 研究人员将执行一系列分子遗传实验，以确定这些效应子是否能够抑制植物免疫或改变植物细胞结构或生理学，以及当病原体引起疾病的能力时，当这些基因沉默或过表达时会影响疾病。 最后，将选择一对保守的蛋白质进行实验，以识别其在植物细胞内的确切靶标。 预计这些实验将揭示重要的，广泛保守的分子策略，这些策略是Oomycetes引起疾病能力的基础，这反过来又将开放新的途径，以实现更复杂的疾病控制策略。 该项目将为研究生和本科生提供多学科培训。该项目的某些方面将与弗吉尼亚理工大学的外展计划合作，该计划在高中科学教室中使用拟南芥反向遗传学。