EAGER: Salicylic Acid Biosynthesis and Metabolism in Plant Defense

植物已经发展出复杂的机制来识别和响应它们的环境，并整合环境线索来协调生长、发育和胁迫/防御反应。植物激素在这些过程中起着核心作用，其中水杨酸(SA)作为植物防御的主要调节因子。SA的合成是对病原体的响应诱导的，并开启了一系列限制感染程度的防御反应。当SA的合成受到限制时，植物更容易受到各种病原体的影响。然而，如果SA过早合成或总是在较高水平合成，就会对生长产生负面影响。因此，了解SA是如何产生和修饰以控制其活性的，对于了解植物防御及其对生长的相关影响是至关重要的。尽管SA在植物防御中具有重要作用，但其生物合成途径尚未完全确定。此外，在不同植物中检测到的SA-氨基酸结合物SA-Asp的作用尚未确定。由于该领域存在争议，供资受到限制，一些审查员要求证明拟议的途径和修改是供资的先决条件。因此，这个项目被认为是高风险-高回报的。利用遗传/基因组模式植物拟南芥，研究人员将使用分子遗传学、生物化学和分析方法获得令人信服的初步数据，定义(1)病原菌诱导SA生物合成的完整途径，(2)SA-Asp在植物防御中的重要性。拟南芥在诱导SA代谢和防御方面的基础研究已经转化为具有商业价值的物种，从而提高了生产力。此外，该项目还将培养两名研究生和两名本科生，其中包括一名第一代大学毕业生。最后，这位研究人员致力于通过当地伯克利公立学校的项目培养下一代科学家，在这些学校，45%的学生来自代表性不足的群体，40%的学生有资格享受免费午餐。特别是，研究人员发起并开发了一个新的STEM外展计划，名为“成为科学家”，每个学生在一个学期的课程中，与加州大学伯克利分校的科学家志愿者和社区科学资源的工作人员合作，开发和探索自己的科学问题。社区科学资源是当地的一个非营利性组织，为伟大的科学教学提供实践支持。

Plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms for recognizing and responding to their environment and for integrating environmental cues to coordinate growth, development, and stress/defense responses. Plant hormones play a central role in mediating these processes with the hormone salicylic acid (SA) as a major regulator of plant defense. SA synthesis is induced in response to pathogens and turns on a broad spectrum of defense responses that limit the extent of infection. When SA synthesis is limited, plants are more susceptible to a broad range of pathogens. However, if SA is made prematurely or is always being synthesized at elevated levels, there is a negative impact on growth. Therefore understanding how SA is made and modified to control its activity is essential to understanding plant defense and its associated impact on growth. This knowledge can then be exploited to enhance agricultural productivity.Despite the importance of SA in plant defense, its biosynthetic pathway has not been fully defined. Furthermore, the role of the SA-amino acid conjugate SA-Asp, detected in diverse plants, has not been established. Funding has been limited by controversy in the field, with proof of proposed pathways and modifications being required by some reviewers as a prerequisite to funding. Therefore, this project is considered high risk - high reward. Using the model genetic/genomic plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the investigators will use molecular genetic, biochemical, and analytical approaches to obtain convincing preliminary data defining (1) the full pathogen-induced SA biosynthetic route via isochorismate and (2) the importance of SA-Asp in plant defense. Basic research in Arabidopsis on induced SA metabolism and defense has translated to commercially important species, allowing for enhanced productivity. In addition, this project will train two graduate students and two undergraduates, including a first generation college-educated student. Finally, the investigator is committed to fostering the next generation of scientists through programs at local Berkeley public schools in which 45% of students are from under-represented groups and 40% qualify for free lunch. In particular, the investigator initiated and developed a new STEM outreach program for 7th graders entitled "Be A Scientist" in which each student develops and explores their own scientific question over the course of a semester in concert with UC Berkeley scientist volunteers and staff of Community Resources for Science, a local non-profit providing practical support for great science teaching.