Mechanisms of nutrient transport from plants to biotrophic pathogens

植物病原体引起的疾病是对全球粮食安全的长期威胁，每年造成数千亿美元的损失。最具成本效益、可持续的疾病控制方法是培育具有天然植物基因的作物，以抵抗病原体，在实践中，这些病原体往往很快被共同进化的病原体所克服。该项目将为工程遗传抗性的新方法奠定基础，其基础是大多数病原体依赖于植物宿主为其生长提供必要的营养。通过识别和改造负责营养转移的植物基因，使它们不再被病原体利用，有可能切断病原体的供应线，防止疾病发展。这种方法可以提供对广泛的病原体的抗性，并且病原体很难通过共同进化来克服。本项目的重点是植物编码的氨基酸和糖的转运蛋白，这些转运蛋白被阿拉伯透明操作孢菌（Hpa）增选以促进营养物质的获取。该项目将为宿主基因对病原体营养的贡献提供新的见解，并将研究转运蛋白被增选为入侵者服务的机制。植物-病原体相互作用的这些方面是至关重要的，但没有得到充分的理解和研究。反向遗传学将用于鉴定Hpa定殖拟南芥所必需的氨基酸转运蛋白。双突变体和RNAi系将用于评估遗传冗余和生理补偿。将对突变体进行研究，以确定对其他病原体感染的影响，以及相关表型是否是由于先天免疫反应的干扰。将在分子水平上检查转运蛋白的子集，以评估其差异表达和亚细胞定位对病原体营养获取的重要性。将确定氨基酸转运蛋白的生化特性和对跨质膜通量的影响，以确定它们在植物中的作用。最后，结合代谢组学和标记营养素的新方法将被用来测试氨基酸转运蛋白的病原体营养的重要性。项目参与者将通过植物研究和教育合作伙伴关系开展外展活动，高中生将对转运蛋白突变体进行原创性研究。参与的科学家通过磨练他们讨论植物科学研究的全球影响及其项目的具体意义的能力而受益。

Diseases caused by plant pathogens are a perennial threat to global food security and cost hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The most cost-effective, sustainable method for disease control is to breed crops with naturally occurring plant genes for resistance to pathogens, which, in practice, are often quickly overcome by co-evolving pathogens. This project will lay the groundwork for a new approach to engineer genetic resistance, based on the fact that most pathogens depend on the plant host to supply essential nutrients for their growth. By identifying and engineering the plant genes responsible for nutrient transfer so that they can no longer be used by the pathogen, it could be possible to cut the pathogen's supply lines and prevent disease development. This approach could provide resistance against a wide range of pathogens and would be very difficult for pathogens to overcome by co-evolution.This project focuses on plant-encoded transporters of amino acids and sugar that are co-opted by Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) to facilitate nutrient acquisition. This project will provide new insights into the contributions of host genes to pathogen nutrition, and will investigate mechanisms through which transporters are co-opted to serve the invader. These aspects of plant-pathogen interactions are critically important but inadequately understood and under-studied. Reverse genetics will be used to identify amino acid transporters necessary for colonization of Arabidopsis by Hpa. Double mutants and RNAi lines will be used to assess genetic redundancy and physiological compensation. Mutants will be studied to determine the impact on infection by other pathogens, and whether the associated phenotypes are due to perturbation of innate immune responses. A subset of transporters will be examined at the molecular level to evaluate the importance of their differential expression and subcellular localization for pathogen nutrient acquisition. Biochemical properties and effects of amino acid transporters on flux across the plasma membrane will be determined to identify their role in the plant. Finally, a novel approach combining metabolomics and labeled nutrients will be used to test the importance of amino acid transporters for pathogen nutrition. Project participants will engage in outreach through the Partnership for Research and Education in Plants, in which high school students will conduct original research on transporter mutants. Participating scientists benefit by honing their ability to discuss the global impact of plant science research and the specific significance of their projects.