Targeting a conserved structural module in Phytophthora effectors for disease resistance

针对疫霉效应子中的保守结构模块进行抗病

• 批准号: 1758889
• 负责人: Wenbo Ma
• 金额: $ 38.16万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1758889&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Targeting; conserved; structural; module; Phytophthora

The human population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. The looming challenge of feeding the rapidly growing population is threatened by crop losses from plant diseases. Phytophthora are filamentous eukaryotic pathogens that cause numerous destructive plant diseases including potato late blight that was responsible for over 1.5 million deaths during the Great Irish Famine and the sudden oak death that has killed millions of forest trees. As a group of pathogens with both historical and current importance, battling Phytophthora diseases is an important mission and a major challenge in agriculture. This project aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying Phytophthora pathogenesis and, based on this knowledge, develop durable resistance in potato and other important crops. As such, this project will not only provide insight into basic biology of plant-pathogen interactions but also directly benefit US Agriculture. Broader impacts of this project include providing interdisciplinary training to postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and undergraduate students on cutting-edge technologies of genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology. It will also reach out to stakeholders, such as potato growers, by informing them with the latest findings and technologies on developing disease resistance in crops.This project is funded jointly by NSF and by NIFA/USDA.Phytophthora employs a large arsenal of virulence proteins, called effectors, to facilitate infection. Directly manipulating plant cellular processes, effectors play an essential role in the arms race with the hosts. An overall understanding of effector functions and the molecular mechanisms underlying their diversification and adaptation is critical to implement durable resistance. This project is based on the exciting discovery that a large number of Phytophthora effectors contain tandem repeats of a conserved structural module, which tolerates a high level of sequence flexibility. Using a combination of genetic, molecular biology, and biochemical approaches, this project will test the hypothesis that this conserved module may serve as a basic building block to enable effector evolution for novel activities and thereby contributing to virulence. Furthermore, plant defense mechanism targeting this conserved module may enable effective resistance against the destructive Phytophthora diseases. The goals of this project are: 1) elucidating the role of this conserved structural module in Phytophthora effector function and evolution; and 2) identifying resistance genes that recognize this conserved structure of Phytophthora effectors from wild potato species. The outcome of this project will make major advancement in the fundamental understanding of Phytophthora diseases. This project is translational because the resistance genes identified from wild potato accessions may be incorporated into elite varieties in order to confer resistance to late blight. These genes could also be used to confer sustainable resistance to a broad variety of Phytophthora species.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

到2050年，世界人口预计将达到97亿。养活快速增长的人口这一迫在眉睫的挑战受到植物病害造成的作物损失的威胁。疫霉是丝状真核病原体，可引起许多破坏性植物疾病，包括在爱尔兰大饥荒期间造成150多万人死亡的马铃薯晚疫病，以及导致数百万树木死亡的橡树猝死。疫霉病作为一组具有历史和现实意义的病原菌，是农业领域的一项重要任务和重大挑战。本项目旨在阐明疫霉发病的分子机制，并在此基础上，在马铃薯和其他重要作物中开发持久抗性。因此，该项目不仅将提供对植物与病原体相互作用的基本生物学的见解，而且还将直接使美国农业受益。该项目的广泛影响包括为博士后、研究生和本科生提供跨学科的遗传学、生物化学和分子生物学前沿技术培训。它还将接触到利益相关者，例如马铃薯种植者，向他们通报关于开发作物抗病能力的最新发现和技术。该项目由NSF和NIFA/USDA联合资助。疫霉利用大量的毒力蛋白（称为效应物）来促进感染。效应器直接操纵植物细胞过程，在与寄主的军备竞赛中发挥着至关重要的作用。全面了解效应剂的功能及其多样化和适应性的分子机制对实现持久抗性至关重要。这个项目是基于一个令人兴奋的发现，即大量疫霉菌效应物含有一个保守结构模块的串联重复序列，这容忍了高度的序列灵活性。结合遗传学、分子生物学和生物化学方法，该项目将测试这样一个假设，即这个保守的模块可能作为一个基本的构建块，使新活动的效应进化成为可能，从而促进毒性。此外，针对这一保守模块的植物防御机制可能使植物对具有破坏性的疫霉病害具有有效的抗性。本课题的目标是：1)阐明该保守结构模块在疫霉菌效应物功能和进化中的作用；2)从野生马铃薯中鉴定识别疫霉效应物这一保守结构的抗性基因。该项目的成果将对疫病的基础认识产生重大的推动作用。该项目具有转译性，因为从野生马铃薯选种中鉴定出的抗性基因可能被纳入优良品种，以赋予对晚疫病的抗性。这些基因也可以用来赋予对多种疫霉物种的持续抗性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Exchange of Small Regulatory RNAs between Plants and Their Pests

• DOI: 10.1104/pp.19.00931
• 发表时间: 2020-01-01
• 期刊: PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
• 影响因子: 7.4
• 作者: Hudzik, Collin;Hou, Yingnan;Axtell, Michael J.
• 通讯作者: Axtell, Michael J.

Phytophthora infestans (Late blight) Infection Assay in a Detached Leaf of Potato

• DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.3926
• 发表时间: 2021-02-20
• 期刊: BIO-PROTOCOL
• 影响因子: 0.8
• 作者: Karki, Hari S.;Halterman, Dennis A.
• 通讯作者: Halterman, Dennis A.

Screening of Wild Potatoes Identifies New Sources of Late Blight Resistance

• DOI: 10.1094/pdis-06-20-1367-re
• 发表时间: 2021-02-01
• 期刊: PLANT DISEASE
• 影响因子: 4.5
• 作者: Karki, Hari S.;Jansky, Shelly H.;Halterman, Dennis A.
• 通讯作者: Halterman, Dennis A.