Metabolic and genetic elements controlling plant-microbe interactions

植物病原体在农业、园艺和林业等多个经济部门造成重大损失。与此同时，植物与许多类型的微生物形成有益的关系，这可以导致生长，营养利用效率以及对环境压力和疾病的抵抗力的增加。与有益微生物的相互作用通常涉及两种生物体之间不同类型的营养物质的交换。相比之下，病原体通常会启动营养物质向微生物的单向转移，对微生物有利，对宿主不利。我们的目标是了解植物病原体如何操纵其宿主的生物学。特别是，我们将研究细菌如何诱导植物表达营养输出蛋白，以将营养物质输送到大多数病原体所在的叶子细胞外空间。我们还将研究植物免疫系统如何诱导对抗反应;诱导营养输入蛋白的表达以剥夺病原体的营养。此外，我们将采取类似的方法，使用代谢物的质谱分析，高通量测序和遗传分析，以确定营养转运蛋白如何参与建立与有益微生物的相互作用。我们还将研究致病和有益的相互作用如何塑造叶和根中微生物群落的建立，反之亦然。这项研究将使我们能够确定有益与致病相互作用的共同和对比机制。更好地理解这些机制将具有重要意义，因为改变植物对病原体的抗性可能会对植物招募有益微生物的能力产生意想不到的影响，反之亦然。

Plant pathogens cause significant losses in multiple economic sectors, including agriculture, horticulture and forestry. At the same time plants form beneficial relationships with many types of microbes, which can result in increases in growth, nutrient use efficiency as well as resistance to environmental stress and disease. The interaction with beneficial microbes often involves an exchange of different types of nutrients between the two organisms. In contrast, pathogens often initiate a one-way transfer of nutrients to the microbe, to the benefit of the latter and to the detriment of the host. We aim to understand how plant pathogens manipulate the biology of their host. In particular, we will investigate how the bacteria induces the plant to express nutrient export proteins to deliver nutrients to the extracellular spaces in leaves where most pathogens reside. We will also investigate how the plant immune system induces a counter response; inducing the expression of nutrient import proteins to deprive pathogens of sustenance. Furthermore, we will undertake similar approaches, using mass spectrometry analysis of metabolites, high throughput sequencing and genetic analyses, to identify how nutrient transporters are involved in establishing interactions with beneficial microbes. We will also investigate how pathogenic and beneficial interactions shape the establishment of microbiome communities in leaves and roots, and vice versa. This research will allow us to determine the common and contrasting mechanisms involved in beneficial versus pathogenic interactions. A better understanding of these mechanisms will have important implications as altering plant resistance to pathogens may have unintended effects of the ability of plants to recruit beneficial microbes, and vice versa.