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

该奖项是一项国际合作研究项目，涉及纽约伊萨卡的博伊斯汤普森研究所的Georg Jander实验室和德国耶拿的马克斯普朗克化学生态学研究所的Jonathan Gershenzon实验室，这两个实验室都使用小型十字花科植物Arabadopsis thaliana作为模型系统研究植物-昆虫相互作用。一个共同的研究兴趣，将探讨的领域是芥子油苷/黑芥子酶系统，这是一个特征的十字花科昆虫防御。在食草动物破坏后，芥子油苷分子被黑芥子酶裂解，产生各种味道尖锐的化合物，有时是挥发性的化合物，阻止昆虫进食。虽然硫代葡萄糖苷/黑芥子酶系统的一般机制是已知的，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然没有研究。拟议的研究将Jander实验室开发的植物突变体和昆虫行为测定与Gershenzon实验室开发的用于检测植物挥发物的生物化学测定相结合，以回答与A. 1.这两种A.拟南芥黑芥子酶 2.桃蚜（绿色桃蚜）取食A. thaliana？ 3.什么植物衍生的挥发物是由A。thaliana对M.喂桃？ Jander和Gershenzon实验室之间的拟议合作将使用互补的研究方法来实现共同的科学目标。两个机构已经建立的分子和化学生态学研究计划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。通过本提案启动的联合研究工作可能会延续到供资期结束之后。 研究使用A. thaliana . M.桃蚜模型系统将导致新的见解植物防御韧皮部取食昆虫，这是相对较少的关注相比，针对咀嚼昆虫和微生物病原体。M.在所提出的实验中使用的昆虫模型桃蚜是一种常见的作物害虫，并且是全世界双子叶作物植物病毒性疾病的最多产的传播者。更好地了解植物-昆虫的相互作用，更具体地说，防御M。将导致作物植物保护和遗传改良的新策略的发展。

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.