Deciphering signal transduction events in the arabidopsis NPR1 disease resistance pathway

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Plants provide us with the food and oxygen we require for our survival. This dependence on plants for food production translates into agriculture being a major employer in Canada. Nevertheless, farm income is dependent on productivity and one of the major problems curtailing agricultural yield is disease caused by microorganisms. To protect crops, farmers spray their fields with organic chemicals. An alternative or complementary approach to crop protection is the development of varieties with enhanced disease resistance to pathogens. This approach has traditionally been an area of focus for plant breeders. However, molecular biologists and biochemists bring another dimension to this quest. Accordingly, they develop molecular markers useful in assisting breeders to select resistant varieties. At the same time, they focus on developing long term solutions which will require a thorough understanding of the molecular events leading to pathogen resistance. In that line of thought, the goal of the proposed research program is to generate new knowledge that will bring us one step closer to unraveling the black box that holds the molecular events leading to pathogen resistance. This goal will be accomplished by studying the arabidopsis NPR1 pathway. More specifically, proteins interacting with NPR1 will be identified and characterized with respect to post-translational modifications. The proposed research makes use of modern molecular biology and proteomics tools, including protein sequencing by tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The new knowledge generated will, in time, lead to the development of durable and environmentally friendly disease resistance in crops.