Guardians of the Apoplast

由于植物病原体造成的产量损失对工业和小规模农业都构成了重大威胁。植物对特定病原体的易感性的决定性参数是它们在植物质外体（细胞间隙）中相互作用的结果，其在不同植物物种之间显著不同。植物分泌一系列不同的蛋白质，这些蛋白质参与对潜在病原体的多层防御反应。因此，植物和致病蛋白质在进化压力下逃避相应相互作用伴侣的检测或降解。迄今为止，只有很少的物理相互作用的植物和同源病原体是已知的。我们的目标是确定质外体蛋白，参与物理植物病原体相互作用的几个物种使用一种新的方法，提名质外体蛋白的基础上，他们多样化的进化遗传图谱。指定的蛋白质的表征包括检测潜在的病原体衍生的相互作用伙伴和量化它们对生物胁迫耐受性的贡献。这是由最近的主要植物基因组重测序项目的科学完善和经济上重要的植物物种。这种新方法的目的是确定植物-病原体直接相互作用的中心，以提高我们对植物免疫的理解，并为减少现代农业产量损失的可持续解决方案做出贡献。BBSRC优先事项：数据驱动生物学可持续地提高农业生产全球粮食安全

Yield losses due to to plant pathogens pose a substantial threat to industrial and small scale agriculture alike. A decisive parameter for the susceptibility of a plant to a particular pathogen is the outcome of their interaction in the plant apoplast (intercellular space) which differs significantly between different plant species. Plants secrete a range of different proteins that are involved in a multi-layered defence response against potential pathogens. Thus, plant and pathogenic proteins are under evolutionary pressure to evade detection or degradation by the corresponding interaction partner. To date, only few physical interactions between plants and cognate pathogens are known. We aim to identify apoplastic proteins that are involved in physical plant-pathogen interaction for several species using a new approach of nominating apoplastic proteins on the basis of their diversifying evolutionary genetic profile. Characterization of nominated proteins includes detection of potential pathogen-derived interaction partners and quantification of their contribution to biotic stress tolerance. This is facilitated by recent major plant genome resequencing projects of scientifically well-established and economically important plant species. The aim of this novel approach is to identify hubs in direct plant-pathogen interaction in order to improve our understanding of plant immunity and contribute to sustainable solutions of reducing yield losses in modern agriculture.BBSRC priorities:Data Driven BiologySustainably enhancing agricultural productionGlobal Food Security