Priming in Arabidopsis Systemic Acquired Resistance

在感染某些微生物后，植物对随后的广谱致病因子的感染更具抵抗力。这种现象的特征，称为系统获得性抗性或SAR，通过开发环境友好和可持续的方法来保护作物免受疾病的影响，具有很大的社会影响。在之前NSF赞助的项目中，发现SAR与防御启动有关，通过增加植物代谢产物壬二酸的产量和长距离运输。当植物由于暴露于壬二酸而引发时，当新的感染来临时，它们会更快地激活防御，并达到更高的水平。目前的更新项目旨在利用遗传学，生物化学和分子生物学来（1）检查植物细胞启动状态的特征，（2）发现哪些植物成分对壬二酸的产生和作用很重要。这项研究将创造出可用于作物保护战略的重要新知识。具体来说，这项研究将辨别引发状态与称为组蛋白的蛋白质变化的相关程度，组蛋白结合遗传物质，使特定基因能够容易地用于防御激活。该研究还将确定SAR相关成分在壬二酸激活的引发途径中的作用位置和方式。该项目将为博士后研究员以及将被招募到该项目的代表性不足的本科生和高中生提供极好的教育机会。

Upon infection with certain microbes, plants become more resistant to subsequent infections with a broad spectrum of disease-causing agents. Characterization of this phenomenon, called systemic acquired resistance or SAR, has great societal impact through the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable methods for protecting crop plants from disease. In the previous NSF-sponsored project, SAR was found to be associated with defense priming through the increased production and long distance transport of a plant metabolite called azelaic acid. When plants are primed due to exposure to azelaic acid, they activate their defenses more quickly and to higher levels when a new infection ensues. The current renewal project aims to use genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology to (1) examine the characteristics of the primed state of plant cells and (2) discover which plant components are important for the production and action of azelaic acid. This research will result in the creation of essential new knowledge that can be exploited for crop protection strategies. Specifically, the research will discern the degree to which the primed state is associated with changes in proteins called histones that bind genetic material and enable specific genes to be readily deployed for defense activation. The research will also define where and how SAR-associated components act in the priming pathway activated by azelaic acid. The project will provide excellent educational opportunities for a postdoctoral fellow as well as under-represented undergraduate and high school students who will be recruited to the project.