Understanding plant root immunity against the global crop destroyer Macrophomina phaseolina using natural variation in Arabidopsis

利用拟南芥的自然变异了解植物根部对全球农作物破坏者Macrophhomina Phaseolina的免疫力

• 批准号: 2129302
• 负责人: Thomas Eulgem
• 金额: $ 39.78万
• 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: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-15 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2129302&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Understanding; plant; root; immunity; against

Plant diseases caused by pathogenic microbes, such as fungi and bacteria, cause massive agricultural losses. Dubbed a “global destroyer of crops”, the soilborne fungal pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina infects the roots of more than 500 plant species including many economically significant crops. Global warming promotes the spread of M. phaseolina. Losses in US field crop production caused by this fungus are increasing due to restrictions on toxic fumigation methods. Thus, alternative, innovative methods to reduce damage caused by M. phaseolina are urgently needed. Plant defense processes against M. phaseolina are poorly understood and immunity in roots is an understudied area. Taking advantage of the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, which allows for rapid progress in experimental studies, the genetic basis of natural disease resistance in plant roots against M. phaseolina will be examined. This study is expected to identify genes and biological processes which mediate protection of plants against this detrimental fungus. Results from this study will accelerate the development of crop cultivars with enhanced disease resistance against M. phaseolina. Its ultimate goal is to reduce the negative impact of M. phaseolina on the U.S. economy. This study will be performed at UC Riverside, a Hispanic Serving Institution, and one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the USA. The investigators are deeply committed to the scientific training of members of historically underrepresented minority groups.The diploid model plant Arabidopsis thaliana offers substantial advantages over crop systems to study the molecular genetic basis of host resistance against M. phaseolina. Arabidopsis is easily transformed, has genome-wide collections of mutants and transgenics, has a very short generation time, and large populations grow in minimal space. A particularly useful resource is a collection of 1000 natural A. thaliana accessions for which genome sequences have been determined. In this collection, a substantial degree of variation in M. phaseolina resistance is observed, allowing defense loci and biological processes contributing to root immunity against this detrimental pathogen to be uncovered. The central hypothesis of this project is: Natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana will allow the discovery of fundamental mechanisms of root defenses against M. phaseolina. The specific aims being pursued are:(1) Use natural variation within A. thaliana to uncover defense mechanisms against M. phaseolina.(2) Study root cell type-specific immune responses against M. phaseolina.(3) Identify key loci mediating protection against M. phaseolina. By profiling transcriptional patterns associated with M. phaseolina resistance among A. thaliana accessions a description of transcriptionally-controlled regulatory, physiological, and biochemical processes involved in host immunity against M. phaseolina will be delivered. Using root cell type-specific fluorescent marker lines, information on how distinct root tissues operate to mediate protection against M. phaseolina will be provided. Reverse genetics and gene mapping will identify plant genes that contribute to immunity against M. phaseolina, which can be used to inform molecular genetic breeding approaches in crops.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.

由真菌和细菌等病原微生物引起的植物病害造成巨大的农业损失。被称为“全球作物破坏者”的土传真菌病原体Macrophhomina Phaseolina 感染超过 500 种植物的根部，其中包括许多具有重要经济意义的作物。全球变暖促进了菜豆的传播。由于有毒熏蒸方法的限制，这种真菌造成的美国大田作物产量损失正在增加。因此，迫切需要替代的创新方法来减少菜豆造成的损害。人们对植物针对菜豆的防御过程知之甚少，根部的免疫也是一个未得到充分研究的领域。利用实验研究快速进展的模式植物拟南芥，将研究植物根部对菜豆的自然抗病性的遗传基础。这项研究预计将鉴定出介导保护植物免受这种有害真菌侵害的基因和生物过程。这项研究的结果将加速开发对菜豆具有增强抗病性的作物品种。其最终目标是减少菜豆对美国经济的负面影响。这项研究将在加州大学河滨分校进行，这是一所西班牙裔服务机构，也是美国种族最多元化的研究型大学之一。研究人员致力于对历史上代表性不足的少数群体成员进行科学培训。二倍体模式植物拟南芥在研究宿主对菜豆抗性的分子遗传基础方面比作物系统具有显着优势。拟南芥很容易转化，具有全基因组突变体和转基因集合，世代时间非常短，并且大量种群在最小的空间内生长。一个特别有用的资源是 1000 个天然拟南芥种质的集合，其基因组序列已被确定。在这个集合中，观察到了菜豆抗性的显着程度的变异，从而揭示了有助于根部抵抗这种有害病原体的免疫的防御位点和生物过程。该项目的中心假设是：拟南芥的自然变异将有助于发现根部防御菜豆的基本机制。所追求的具体目标是：（1）利用拟南芥内的自然变异来揭示针对菜豆的防御机制。（2）研究针对菜豆的根细胞类型特异性免疫反应。（3）识别介导针对菜豆的保护的关键位点。通过分析拟南芥种质中与菜豆抗性相关的转录模式，将描述参与宿主对菜豆免疫的转录控制的调节、生理和生化过程。使用根细胞类型特异性荧光标记系，将提供有关不同根组织如何发挥作用来介导针对菜豆的保护的信息。反向遗传学和基因图谱将鉴定有助于对菜豆免疫的植物基因，可用于为农作物的分子遗传育种方法提供信息。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。