Excellence in Research: Phytohormones and Heat-Induced Loss of Wheat Resistance to Hessian Fly

高温（热胁迫）会降低植物对昆虫的抵抗力，导致作物产量下降。本研究旨在了解植物激素对小麦（Triticum aestivum）对黑森蝇（Mayetiola destructor）抗性表达的作用，黑森蝇是北美小麦植物最具破坏性的害虫之一。在这项研究中，表型分析，生物化学和分子生物学方法的组合将被部署，以调查植物激素对植物昆虫抗性对温度变化的敏感性的影响。这一发现将有助于理解温度变化下寄主植物抗性丧失的机制以及寄主植物与害虫之间的协同进化。这项研究的实施将提供一个平台，通过带薪研究实习，生物技术研讨会和将研究方法纳入课堂教学，在研究，科学交流和分子生物学技术方面培训费耶特维尔州立大学（FSU）服务不足人群的本科生。这些努力将提高本科生的能力，特别是少数民族学生和/或FSU的军事相关学生进入研究生/专业学校和STEM劳动力，从而提高社会流动性。此外，这项研究的结果有可能被应用到控制黑森蝇在小麦作物的损害，在压力环境条件下，以提高农业生产力，粮食安全，并有利于农村社区在美国。热应激可以损害植物抗虫性。该提议旨在了解植物激素在抗性中的作用：以小麦（Triticum aestivum）-黑森蝇（Mayetiola destructor）相互作用为模型，在热胁迫下，（R）基因介导的宿主植物对昆虫的抗性。本研究的总体假设是，植物激素茉莉酸（JA），水杨酸（SA），12-氧代-植物二烯酸（OPDA），生长素影响OPDA代谢在小麦植株中，并影响小麦对黑森蝇在热胁迫下的抗性。为了检验这一假设，'莫莉'，一种含有R-基因H13的黑森蝇抗性品种及其敏感的近等基因系'牛顿'将被无毒生物型GP黑森蝇侵染，并分别经受热应激和热应激与外部应用植物激素的组合。本研究采用表型分析、生物化学和分子生物学分析以及代谢组学方法相结合的方法，旨在实现以下四个目标：1）确定高温条件下植物激素对小麦抗黑森蝇表型的影响; 2）阐明高温胁迫下植物激素对小麦植株OPDA代谢的影响; 3）研究植物激素对小麦抗病基因转录表达的影响。4）确定植物激素对热胁迫下小麦植株中黑森蝇取食点的脂质和脂肪酸代谢的影响。这一发现将提高对高温诱导植物抗虫性丧失的分子机制以及寄主植物和寄生虫在温度变化下的共同进化的理解。该奖项反映了NSF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。

High temperature (Heat stress) can reduce plant resistance to insects, resulting in decreased productivity of crop plants. This research aims to understand the role of phytohormones on the expression of wheat (Triticum aestivum) resistance to Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor), one of the most destructive insect pests of wheat plants in North America. In this research, a combination of phenotyping, biochemical, and molecular biology approaches will be deployed to investigate the impact of phytohormones on the sensitivity of plant insect resistance to temperature changes. The findings will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of heat-induced loss of host plant resistance and co-evolution between host plants and insect pests under changing temperatures. The implementation of this research will provide a platform to train undergraduate students of underserved populations at Fayetteville State University (FSU) in research, scientific communication, and molecular biology techniques via paid research internship, biotechnology workshop, and incorporation of research methodologies into classroom teaching. Such efforts will improve the competency of undergraduate students, especially minority students and/or military-associated students at FSU to enter graduate/professional schools and STEM workforce, and therefore enhance social mobility. Furthermore, findings from this research have the potential to be applied to control Hessian fly damage in wheat crop under stressed environmental conditions to improve agriculture productivity, food security, and benefit the rural community in the US.Heat stress can compromise plant resistance to insects. This proposal aims to understand the role of phytohormones in resistance: (R)-gene-medicated host plant resistance to insects under heat stress using wheat (Triticum aestivum)-Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) interaction as a model. The overall hypothesis of this research is that phytohormones jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA), and auxin affect OPDA metabolism in wheat plants and influence wheat resistance to Hessian fly under heat stress. To test this hypothesis, ‘Molly’, a Hessian fly resistant cultivar containing the R-gene H13 and its susceptible near-isogenic line ‘Newton’ will be infested by an avirulent biotype GP Hessian fly and subjected to heat stress, and a combination of heat stress and external application of phytohormones, respectively. A combination of phenotyping, biochemical and molecular analyses, and metabolomic approaches will be deployed to achieve four objectives:1) to determine the impact of phytohormones on wheat resistance phenotype to Hessian fly under heat conditions; 2) to demonstrate the impact of phytohormones on OPDA metabolism in wheat plants under heat stress; 3) to examine the impact of phytohormones on transcript expression of wheat genes potentially contributing to wheat resistance/susceptibility to Hessian fly under heat stress; 4) to determine the impact of phytohormones on lipid and fatty acid metabolism at Hessian fly feeding sites in wheat plants under heat stress. The findings will enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of heat-induced loss of plant resistance to insects and co-evolution between host plants and parasites under changing temperatures.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.