Dehydroabietinal Signaling in Plant Defense

在局部感染后诱导系统防御的能力使植物能够控制疾病传播到其他器官并抵御新的感染。脱氢松香素是一种由多种植物产生的松烷二萜类化合物，是一种有效的系统性抗病激活剂，是一种诱导叶片对局部侵染做出反应的防御机制。该项目的目标是表征脱氢松香素作为一种长距离信号分子在植物防御中的参与。遗传、生化和分子方法的结合将被用来实现这一目标。这项活动将加深我们对植物防御中远程通讯的理解，并为了解松烷二萜类化合物在植物中的功能提供重要的见解。更广泛的影响：该项目将支持三名研究生和两名本科生以及一名博士后的研究和培训。他们将接受植物生物化学、分子生物学、遗传学、有机化学和质谱学方面的培训。此外，通过PI和Co-PI的教学活动，该项目将把当前关于植物信号、次生代谢和胁迫反应的知识，以及有机合成和质谱学技术，带入课堂。该项目还将提供培训高中生和未来的科学教师的机会，并通过北德克萨斯大学现有的几个项目，扩大代表不足的群体参与研究的范围。该项目将通过确定植物新陈代谢/信号传递的步骤来调节对病原体的防御，从而潜在地造福于整个社会。未来，这些措施的目标可能是增强植物的抗病能力，从而提高植物的质量和生产力，并通过限制对有毒化学品的需求来保护植物，也有利于环境和公众健康。

The ability to induce defense systemically after a local infection allows plants to control disease spread to additional organs and ward off new infections. Dehydroabietinal, an abietane diterpenoid that is produced by a variety of plants, is a potent activator of systemic disease resistance, which is an inducible defense mechanism activated in the foliage in response to a local infection. The goal of this project is to characterize the involvement of dehydroabietinal as a long-distance signaling molecule in plant defense. A combination of genetic, biochemical, and molecular approaches will be utilized to accomplish this goal. The proposed activity will enhance our understanding of long-distance communication in plant defense and provide important insights into the function of abietane diterpenoids in plants. Broader Impacts: This project will support the research and training of three graduate and two undergraduate students, and a postdoctoral fellow. They will receive training in plant biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, organic chemistry, and mass spectrometry. In addition, through the instructional activities of the PI and Co-PIs, this project will bring current knowledge of plant signaling, secondary metabolism, and stress response, in addition to organic synthesis and mass-spectrometry techniques, into the classroom. The project will also provide opportunities to train high school students and future science teachers, and broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in research through several programs that are in place at the University of North Texas. This project will potentially benefit society at large by identifying steps in plant metabolism/signaling that mediate defense against pathogens. In the future these steps could be targeted for augmenting disease resistance in plants and thus enhance the quality and productivity of plants, and by way of limiting the need for toxic chemicals to protect plants, also benefit the environment and public health.