Functions of the Arabidopsis immune adaptor protein SRFR1 in regulating effector-triggered immunity

拟南芥免疫接头蛋白SRFR1在调节效应子触发免疫中的功能

• 批准号: 1121114
• 负责人: Walter Gassmann
• 金额: $ 74.49万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-12-01 至 2015-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1121114&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Functions; Arabidopsis; immune; adaptor; protein

The immune system of any higher organism needs to respond vigorously to microorganisms that pose a threat while simultaneously ignoring harmless ones. Biologically speaking, this is a significant balancing act. To achieve this degree of specificity, plants have evolved a special immune response, called effector-triggered immunity, that allows the plant to detect harmful proteins and to react both defensively and appropriately; as is true with humans, an overly vigorous immune response can be harmful to a plant's own health. To ensure an optimal immune response, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana has evolved a type of "quality control" mechanism, a key component of which is a novel protein, called SRFR1, that is conserved in animals as well as plants. This project will determine whether SRFR1 dampens effector-triggered immune responses by physically binding to positive immune regulators. Through a combination of genetic, genomic, and biochemical techniques, the investigators will determine how SRFR1 works and, specifically, how SRFR1 is induced to switch protein binding partners in order to regulate different steps in the plant's immune response. The project's outcome includes a better understanding of how plant immune signaling is kept in check and, specifically, how a single protein can regulate a whole signaling pathway through direct and dynamic interactions with other proteins. This knowledge may aid efforts to produce crops with robust resistance to pathogens while minimizing negative side effects on yield.This project's broader impacts include the education and training of a graduate student and a post-doctoral researcher. The project also will be used in a larger effort by the University of Missouri to engage freshmen undergraduate students in research experiences in plant biology. With mechanistic knowledge of how plants fight off disease, society will be better equipped to boost plants' natural immune responses, which would benefit sustainable agriculture, biomass production, and the environment.

任何高等生物的免疫系统都需要对构成威胁的微生物作出强有力的反应，同时忽视无害的微生物。从生物学角度来说，这是一种重要的平衡行为。为了达到这种程度的特异性，植物已经进化出一种特殊的免疫反应，称为效应触发免疫，它允许植物检测有害蛋白质并做出防御和适当的反应；与人类一样，过度强烈的免疫反应可能对植物自身的健康有害。为了确保最佳的免疫反应，拟南芥已经进化出一种“质量控制”机制，其中一个关键组成部分是一种名为SRFR1的新蛋白，这种蛋白在动物和植物中都是保守的。该项目将确定SRFR1是否通过与阳性免疫调节因子的物理结合来抑制效应触发的免疫反应。通过遗传学、基因组学和生化技术的结合，研究人员将确定SRFR1如何起作用，特别是SRFR1如何被诱导转换蛋白质结合伙伴，以调节植物免疫反应的不同步骤。该项目的成果包括更好地了解植物免疫信号是如何被控制的，特别是单个蛋白质如何通过与其他蛋白质的直接和动态相互作用来调节整个信号通路。这些知识可能有助于生产对病原体具有强大抵抗力的作物，同时最大限度地减少对产量的负面影响。该项目更广泛的影响包括研究生和博士后研究人员的教育和培训。该项目也将被密苏里大学用于一个更大的项目，以吸引大一本科生参与植物生物学的研究经验。有了植物如何抵抗疾病的机械知识，社会将更好地增强植物的自然免疫反应，这将有利于可持续农业、生物质生产和环境。