U.S.-Germany Collaborative Research: Analysis of Glucosinolate Breakdown Products and Aphid Defense in Arabidopsis Thaliana

该奖项是为一个国际合作研究项目颁发的，该项目涉及纽约伊萨卡博伊斯汤普森研究所的Georg Jander实验室和德国耶拿马克斯普朗克化学生态学研究所的Jonathan Gershenzon实验室，他们都使用小型十字花科植物Arabadopsis thaliana作为模型系统研究植物与昆虫的相互作用。一个共同的研究兴趣将被探索的领域是硫代葡萄糖苷/黑芥子酶系统，这是十字花科植物的特征昆虫防御。在食草动物的伤害下，硫代葡萄糖苷分子被黑芥子酶裂解，产生各种味道强烈，有时挥发性的化合物，阻止昆虫进食。虽然已知硫代葡萄糖苷/黑芥子酶系统的一般机制，但关于单个硫代葡萄糖苷、黑芥子酶和辅助酶在昆虫防御中的作用的许多细节仍未被研究。拟开展的研究将Jander实验室开发的植物突变体和昆虫行为分析与Gershenzon实验室开发的植物挥发物检测生化分析相结合，以回答拟沙植物昆虫防御的具体问题：1。这两种拟南芥芥子酶的酶特性是什么？2. 桃蚜（Myzus persicae）取食拟南芥（a.thaliana）时硫代葡萄糖苷分解的时间过程是什么？3. 拟南芥对桃蚜取食会产生哪些植物源挥发物？Jander和Gershenzon实验室之间拟议的合作将使用互补的研究方法来实现共同的科学目标。这两个机构已经建立的分子和化学生态学研究项目将从这种互动和思想交流中受益。詹德实验室的学生和博士后将有机会在马克斯普朗克研究所进行实验，并将受益于德国的国际研究经验。通过这项提案发起的联合研究工作很可能会延续到资助期结束之后。利用拟南芥的研究。桃分枝杆菌模型系统将为植物防御韧皮部取食昆虫提供新的见解，与针对咀嚼昆虫和微生物病原体的研究相比，这一研究相对较少受到关注。桃蚜（M. persicae）是一种常见的农作物害虫，是世界上双子叶作物病毒病最多产的传播者。更好地了解植物与昆虫的相互作用，更具体地说，对桃蚜的防御将导致作物植物保护和遗传改良新策略的发展。

This award is for a international collaborative research project involving the laboratories of Georg Jander at the Boyce Thompson Institute in Ithaca, New York, and Jonathan Gershenzon at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, which both study plant-insect interactions using the small crucifer plant Arabadopsis thaliana as a model system. One area of common research interest that will be explored is the glucosinolate/myrosinase system, which is a characteristic insect defense of crucifers. Upon herbivore damage, glucosinolate molecules are cleaved by the enzyme myrosinase to produce a variety of sharp-tasting and sometimes volatile compounds that deter insect feeding. Although the general mechanism of the glucosinolate/myrosinase system is known, many details about the role of individual glucosinolates, myrosinases, and accessory enzymes in insect defense remain uninvestigated. The proposed research combines plant mutants and insect behavior assays developed in the Jander laboratory with biochemical assays for the detection of plant volatiles, which have been developed in the Gershenzon laboratory, to answer specific questions related to insect defense in A. thaliana: 1. What are the enzymatic specificities of the two A. thaliana myrosinase enzymes? 2. What is the time-course of glucosinolate breakdown during Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) feeding on A. thaliana? 3. What plant-derived volatiles are produced by A. thaliana in response to M. persicae feeding? The proposed collaboration between the Jander and Gershenzon laboratories will use complementary research approaches to achieve common scientific goals. Already established molecular and chemical ecology research programs at the two institutions will benefit from this interaction and exchange of ideas. Students and postdocs from the Jander laboratory will have the opportunity to perform experiments at the Max Planck Institute and will benefit from an international research experience in Germany. Joint research efforts that will be initiated through this proposal are likely to extend beyond the end of the funding period. Research using the A. thaliana . M. persicae model system will lead to new insights into plant defense against phloem-feeding insects, which has received relatively little attention compared to that directed against chewing insects and microbial pathogens. M. persicae, the insect model used in the proposed experiments, is a common crop plant pest and the most prolific transmitter of viral diseases of dicotyledonous crop plants worldwide. A better understanding of plant-insect interactions in general and, more specifically, defense against M. persicae will lead to the development of new strategies for crop plant protection and genetic improvement.