Investigating effector function in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

研究稻瘟病菌 Magnaporthe oryzae 的效应子功能

• 批准号: 2868889
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of East Anglia
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 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=studentship-2868889
• 关键词: Investigating; effector; function; rice; blast

Rice blast disease is one of the most serious diseases affecting rice cultivation around the world, detroying enough rice each year to feed 60 million people. The disease is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, which also threatens wheat and millet production, affecting Asia and Africa in particular. During plant infection, the rice blast fungus deploys a large repertoire of effector proteins that enable it to suppress host immunity and proliferate rapidly in plant tissue, overwhelming the host plant and causing disease. These effectors are specifically expressed when the fungus grow in plant tissue, but the host proteins that they target and the biological processes that they affect are largely unknown. This project will identify plant proteins that are targeted by effector proteins using immuno-precipitation and tandem mass spectrometry and then carry out structural analysis of interacting protein complexes using X-ray crystallography. The project will functionally characterise plant proteins by analysing mutants in rice to determine their role in host immunity. In parallel, the project will functionally characterise effector proteins by generating corresponding deletion mutants in the blast fungus and determine their role in fungal pathogenesis.

稻瘟病是影响世界各地水稻种植的最严重疾病之一，每年毁坏的稻米足以养活 6000 万人。这种疾病是由稻瘟病菌引起的，它也威胁小麦和小米的生产，尤其影响亚洲和非洲。在植物感染期间，稻瘟病菌会部署大量效应蛋白，使其能够抑制宿主免疫并在植物组织中快速增殖，压垮宿主植物并引起疾病。当真菌在植物组织中生长时，这些效应子会特异性表达，但它们针对的宿主蛋白以及它们影响的生物过程在很大程度上是未知的。该项目将使用免疫沉淀和串联质谱鉴定效应蛋白靶向的植物蛋白，然后使用 X 射线晶体学对相互作用的蛋白复合物进行结构分析。该项目将通过分析水稻突变体来对植物蛋白进行功能表征，以确定它们在宿主免疫中的作用。与此同时，该项目将通过在稻瘟病真菌中产生相应的缺失突变体来对效应蛋白进行功能表征，并确定它们在真菌发病机制中的作用。