Japan STA Fellowship: Chitin Perception in the Model Legume Lotus japonicus: A Molecular and Biochemical Comparison to a Chitin Binding Protein in Rice

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9907799DayThe proposed research by Dr. Robert Bradley Day will examine several questions regarding chitin perception in plants. Clearly, chitin as a chemical signal molecule and elicitor of a number of responses in both plants and animals has begun to emerge in recent years as a candidate molecule for studying gene activation and expression following delivery of an external stimulus. The major hypothesis to be tested by Dr. Day is that chitin perception by rice in response to fungal pathogenesis (a harmful relationship) shares a common recognition event with chitin perception in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis (a beneficial relationship). At a technical level, the identification of a chitin-binding protein in the model legume Lotus japonicus which is homologous to that identified in rice will lead to a better understanding of chitin perception in general, and of its role in cellular interactions. This award supports a two-year Science and Technology Agency of Japan (STA) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Robert Bradley Day at the National Institute of Agrobiological Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tsukuba, Japan. Dr. Day will work with Dr. Naoto Shibuya, Director of the Department of Biotechnology, on a project entitled, "Chitin Perception in the Model Legume Lotus japonicus: A Molecular and Biochemical Comparison to a Chitin-Binding Protein in Rice." The experiments in the proposed project will contribute to an understanding of the role of chitin perception, and to a better understanding of the mechanism of signal exchange and the structure-function specificity of this which appears to dictate this complex interaction. There are clear long-term practical applications to agriculture of the findings from this basic research work. The proposed work will benefit through collaboration with the Japanese host laboratory, where Dr. Day will have access to the necessary experimental systems, equipment and expertise.***