The Arabidopsis gp91-Phox Gene Family and NADPH Oxidase Function

该项目将研究植物对细菌和真菌病原体感染的反应。病原体和害虫造成了重大的作物损失，因此了解植物免疫系统是如何工作的在知识上和实践上都很重要。特别是，该项目将分析蛋白质，帮助植物细胞受到攻击的信号邻近植物细胞发起适当的防御反应。所使用的信号是普通氧的衍生物，一种被称为超氧化物的氧自由基。超氧化物是由一种叫做NADPH氧化酶的酶在植物细胞的外表面产生的。编码这种酶的基因是这个项目的重点。该研究将利用遗传学、生物化学和细胞生物学的工具来了解对感染反应的超氧化物产生的调节。该项目关注的是一种名为拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）的模式植物物种，但这些研究的结果直接适用于农作物。预期的结果还将描述其他调节超氧化物产生的蛋白质，并增加对植物细胞如何感知超氧化物的理解。这项工作的更广泛的影响将是培养博士后，博士和本科研究人员在植物分子生物学。此外，PI还将向公众提供有关植物生物学和食品转基因的讲座。

This project will study how plants respond to infection by bacterial and fungal pathogens. Pathogens and pests cause major crop loses and therefore an understanding of how the Plant Immune System works is of both intellectual and practical importance. In particular, this project will analyze the proteins that help plant cells under attack signal neighboring plant cells to initiate appropriate defense responses. The signal that is used is a derivative of common oxygen, an oxygen radical called superoxide. Superoxide is generated on the outer surface of the plant cell by an enzyme called NADPH oxidase. The genes encoding this enzyme are the focus of the project. The research will use tools of genetics, biochemistry and cell biology to understand the regulation of superoxide production in response to infection. The project focuses on a model plant species called Arabidopsis thaliana, but results derived from these studies are directly applicable to crop plants. The expected results will also describe other proteins whose action regulates the production of superoxide and add to the understanding of how plant cells sense superoxide. The Broader Impacts of this work will be to train post-doctoral, doctoral and undergraduate researchers in plant molecular biology. In addition the PI will present lectures to the general public on plant biology and genetic modification of foods.