Poly (ADP-ribosyl)ation in Plant Responses to Pathogens

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Plant diseases are a major source of agricultural yield loss every year, despite use of current and somewhat successful disease control methods. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms that plants use to respond to pathogen infections can contribute to our long-term ability to more successfully manage plant diseases (for example by improved plant breeding, or by chemical or biotechnology approaches that stimulate better disease resistance). The investigators have discovered that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation processes are active in infected plants and that manipulation of these processes alters the plant defense response. In the present project, molecular genetics and biochemistry/cell biology approaches will be used to investigate two main Specific Aims: 1) Determine how pathogen-elicited plant cell wall reinforcement is impacted by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, and 2) Dissect additional roles of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in defense-associated DNA repair and in apoptosis, using recent findings to discover new genes and pathways with functional roles in plant immunity. Broader Impacts of this study will arise foremost through better understanding of this previously undiscovered component of plant immunity. Accommodation of DNA damage and related stresses, a main role of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in other organisms, is highly relevant in an era of ozone depletion and climate change, where there can be synergy between stress caused by pathogens and stress caused by the abiotic environment. In addition, plant cell wall biology is a subject of high interest due to its relevance to biofuels (cell wall reinforcement in response to pathogens is altered when poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is altered). Broader impacts of the project will also arise through education/outreach activities that engage college and high school students in research, including under-represented minorities, and that train graduate students and postdocs in effective mentoring of younger students to create research experiences that get students engaged and excited about science.