CAREER: Dissecting the cellular pathways and signaling networks orchestrating plant defense responses and their interplay with bacterial virulence factors

职业：剖析细胞通路和信号网络，协调植物防御反应及其与细菌毒力因子的相互作用

基本信息

批准号：
1842970
负责人：
Clemencia Rojas
金额：
$ 90万
依托单位：
University of Arkansas
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-05-01 至 2023-10-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1842970&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
CAREER Dissecting cellular pathways signaling

项目摘要

Plant diseases caused by microorganisms have a significant impact on agricultural productivity and, consequently affect the availability of food and fiber for an ever-growing human population. To fight potential pathogens, plants have evolved a complex defense system that detects the presence of potential pathogens and activates multiple responses to restrict pathogen proliferation and prevent tissue damage. Some of these responses include the fortification of the cell wall and the release of molecules with antimicrobial properties. In spite of these and other defense responses diseases still occur because pathogens have also evolved multiple strategies to avoid the plant defense system. The objective of this project is to understand how plants fortify the cell wall and release antimicrobials, and how pathogens interfere with these processes. This knowledge will shed light into new approaches to control plant diseases and reduce their economic and societal impact. The research activities from this project will be used to engage undergraduate students from under-represented minorities, and will provide multi-disciplinary training for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, who will also be mentors in the outreach activities. The plant endomembrane system is essential for pathogen recognition, and for the deployment of defense responses such as the remodeling of the cell wall and the delivery of proteins with antimicrobial properties to the extracellular milieu (apoplast). Both of these responses require protein secretion, a process that has been investigated but remains poorly understood, especially in plants, as it involves multiple and highly dynamic subcellular compartments, trafficking pathways and protein networks. Because endomembrane-mediated processes are essential in plant-pathogen interactions, these processes are also targets of pathogen's virulence factors, but the strategies that pathogens use have not been well characterized. The main objective of this project is to gain a deeper understanding into secretory pathways and signaling networks regulating plant defense responses and how these processes are targeted by virulence factors from bacterial pathogens. This project will use multi-disciplinary approaches involving live-cell imaging and proteomics technologies in combination with biological, genetic and biochemical assays to identify subcellular compartments, trafficking pathways and protein networks operating in cell wall remodeling and delivery of antimicrobial proteins to the apoplast. The project will also provide a framework to compare how bacterial pathogens with contrasting lifestyles trigger distinct sets of molecular and cellular responses, and how synergistic interactions between virulence factors from adapted bacterial pathogens subvert plant immune responses. This project is jointly funded by the Plant Biotic Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

由微生物引起的植物疾病对农业生产率产生了重大影响，因此影响了不断增长的人群的食物和纤维的可用性。为了抵抗潜在的病原体，植物发展了一个复杂的防御系统，该系统检测潜在病原体的存在并激活多种反应以限制病原体增殖并防止组织损伤。这些反应中的一些包括强化细胞壁和具有抗菌特性的分子的释放。尽管病原体也发展了多种策略以避免植物防御系统，但仍发生了这些防御反应疾病。该项目的目的是了解植物如何加固细胞壁并释放抗菌素，以及病原体如何干扰这些过程。这些知识将阐明控制植物疾病并减少其经济和社会影响的新方法。该项目的研究活动将用于吸引来自代表性不足的少数民族的本科生，并将为博士后研究员和研究生提供多学科培训，他们也将成为外展活动的导师。植物内膜系统对于病原体识别至关重要，并且对于部署了防御反应，例如重塑细胞壁以及具有抗菌特性的蛋白质递送到细胞外环境（poplast）。这两种反应都需要蛋白质分泌，这一过程已经进行了研究，但在植物中尤其是在植物中尚不清楚，因为它涉及多个和高度动态的亚细胞隔室，运输途径和蛋白质网络。由于内膜介导的过程在植物病原体相互作用中至关重要，因此这些过程也是病原体毒力因子的靶标，但是病原体使用的策略尚未得到很好的特征。该项目的主要目的是对调节植物防御反应的分泌途径和信号网络有更深入的了解，以及这些过程如何由细菌病原体的毒力因子靶向。该项目将使用涉及活细胞成像和蛋白质组学技术以及生物学，遗传和生化测定法的多学科方法，以鉴定细胞隔室，运输途径和在细胞壁重塑中运行的蛋白质网络以及抗菌蛋白向凋亡的蛋白质中运行的蛋白质网络。该项目还将提供一个框架，以比较细菌病原体与对比鲜明的生活方式如何触发不同的分子和细胞反应集，以及如何从适应性细菌病原体颠覆植物免疫反应的毒力因子之间的协同相互作用。该项目由植物生物互动计划和启发竞争性研究的既定计划共同资助（EPSCOR）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，认为值得通过评估来支持。