A strategy for broad root disease resistance in barley

大麦抗宽根病的策略

• 批准号: BB/X014118/1
• 负责人: Sebastian Schornack
• 金额: $ 56.86万
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FX014118%2F1
• 关键词: strategy; broad; root; disease; resistance

Increasing crop yield to feed the world is a major challenge of our century but it is hampered by diseases caused by filamentous plant pathogens. A particular challenge are diseases caused by root pathogens because several different fungi with similar infection strategies can lead to root rots. The arms race between pathogen and plant demands constant adjustment of crop germplasm to tackle emerging pathogen races with new virulence features. But specific resistance genes against root rotting pathogens are not known. In addition, resistance gene deployment by use of transgenic approaches has encountered significant opposition from the public. A viable alternative is quantitative disease resistance based on manipulation of infection-critical host processes since it has a higher probability for durability and potentially may affect multiple different root pathogens. The innovative aspect of this proposal is to explore a newly discovered mechanism that is universally required for root access in monocot and dicot plants without impacting growth, development and seed yield traits as well as plant interactions with symbiotic fungi.Barley is the fourth most cereal cultivated globally and pivotal to the UK economy. It is also an excellent experimental model with a fully sequenced diploid genome and extensive information on its shoot disease resistance and root microbiota. Our work has revealed that inactivation of a SCAR gene encoding a protein component of the conserved SCAR/WAVE complex involved in localised cell trafficking at root tips can alter cell walls and renders roots of barley resistant to a filamentous pathogen while having no detrimental impact on growth, development and seed yield.Building on this knowledge and resource we can now address whether scar-mutant mediated barley root resistance extends towards Uk relevant filamentous root rot pathogens (oomycetes and fungi). We have already generated the required barley germplasm but require funding support to carry out a thorough characterisation of the infection process as well as infection studies with UK-relevant pathogens under ideal and stressed conditions. Importantly, we also want to examine the capacity of this germplasm to shape root associated microbiota and test its competence for fungal symbiosis.Upon completion of the proposed experiments we will have a good understanding whether previously unexplored barley SCAR proteins control filamentous pathogen colonisation processes. We will know whether individual SCAR genes impact on root infections and whether they are required for fungal symbiosis. We will also have obtained important information on the impact of SCAR protein removal and on the plant's interaction with its soil environment. This will allow us to recommend a specific SCAR gene as promising target for non-transgenic mutagenesis breeding to achieve broad resilience against filamentous pathogens in cereals and to recruit industrial partners to develop a EU market-compatible final germplasm in barley varieties of economic relevance.

提高农作物产量来养活世界是本世纪的一项重大挑战，但丝状植物病原体引起的疾病阻碍了这一进程。一个特殊的挑战是由根部病原体引起的疾病，因为具有相似感染策略的几种不同真菌可能导致根部腐烂。病原体和植物之间的军备竞赛需要不断调整作物种质，以应对具有新毒力特征的新兴病原体种族。但针对根腐病病原体的特异性抗性基因尚不清楚。此外，利用转基因方法部署抗性基因也遭到了公众的强烈反对。一种可行的替代方案是基于感染关键宿主过程的操纵的定量抗病性，因为它具有更高的持久性概率，并且可能影响多种不同的根病原体。该提案的创新之处在于探索一种新发现的机制，该机制是单子叶和双子叶植物根部通行所普遍需要的，而不影响生长、发育和种子产量性状以及植物与共生真菌的相互作用。大麦是第四大种植谷物全球范围内并对英国经济至关重要。它也是一个优秀的实验模型，具有完全测序的二倍体基因组和有关其芽抗病性和根部微生物群的广泛信息。我们的工作表明，编码涉及根尖局部细胞运输的保守SCAR/WAVE复合物的蛋白质成分的SCAR基因失活可以改变细胞壁，并使大麦根对丝状病原体具有抵抗力，同时对生长没有不利影响、发育和种子产量。基于这些知识和资源，我们现在可以解决疤痕突变介导的大麦根抗性是否延伸到英国相关的丝状根腐病病原体（卵菌和真菌）。我们已经产生了所需的大麦种质，但需要资金支持来对感染过程进行彻底的表征，以及在理想和压力条件下对英国相关病原体进行感染研究。重要的是，我们还想检查这种种质塑造根部相关微生物群的能力，并测试其真菌共生的能力。完成拟议的实验后，我们将很好地了解以前未开发的大麦 SCAR 蛋白是否控制丝状病原体定植过程。我们将了解单个 SCAR 基因是否会影响根部感染以及它们是否是真菌共生所必需的。我们还将获得有关 SCAR 蛋白去除的影响以及植物与其土壤环境相互作用的重要信息。这将使我们能够推荐特定的 SCAR 基因作为非转基因诱变育种的有希望的目标，以实现对谷物中丝状病原体的广泛抵抗力，并招募工业合作伙伴在具有经济相关性的大麦品种中开发与欧盟市场兼容的最终种质。