Analysis of the effects of LED grow lights on plant immunity against pathogens

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Lumenari is a Canadian company located in Richmond, British Columbia. It develops automated,premium-quality and easy-to-use light-emitting diode (LED) lighting technologies for residential, horticulturaland commercial usages. Compared with traditional lighting system, LED lights have increased efficiency,better spectrum control, and reduced maintenance. The ability of LED grow lights to produce narrow-bandwavelength lights also accommodates the specific lighting requirements of different types of plants. Asprevious studies have shown that both quantity and quality of light affect plant immunity, one critical questionneeds to be addressed is how deploying LED grow lights affects plant's natural resistance mechanisms againstpathogenic microbial pathogens.The Zhang lab at UBC uses different types of plant pathogens routinely to study plant immune responses. Thegoal of this Engage proposal is to secure funding to initiate collaboration with Lumenari in order to test theeffects of different spectrums of LED grow lights on plant resistance against bacterial, oomycete and fungalpathogens. In addition, the molecular mechanism of how plant immune responses are affected by the spectrumsof lights will be explored. These studies will provide guidance to the LED grow light industry on whatspectrum, intensity and quantity of lighting would benefit the crop plants the most in the greenhouse industryfor maximum yield without causing susceptibility to microbial pathogens.