Collaborative Research: Understanding Molecular Mechanisms of Immune Response to a Herbivore-Associated Peptide Elicitor

植物通过复杂的免疫系统识别攻击者来抵御害虫和病原体。控制对咀嚼食草动物（如毛毛虫）的免疫反应的分子途径知之甚少。昆虫攻击者的检测是由植物细胞质膜上的受体介导的，所述受体结合攻击的特征分子模式并发送细胞内信号以主动防御反应。这些受体如何执行识别和信号传导功能对于包括作物植物在内的疾病和害虫抗性至关重要。该建议旨在确定途径和分子因子，控制植物响应于被攻击的植物叶片内的植食动物。了解这些因素将允许针对食草动物的抗性性状的靶向育种和/或工程化。该项目还将推出一个创新的跨校园实习，以巩固本科生作为植物生物学家的身份。每年夏天，两名本科生将在华盛顿大学或加州大学戴维斯分校参加另一个校园的路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）实习，获得指导性的研究经验，然后返回他们的家乡校园进行大四。每个学生参加两个植物免疫实验室将增强有前途的BIPOC或第一代实习生的信心和自我效能感。该项目将利用Inceptin受体（INR），这是一种新发现的模式识别受体（PRR），可检测在毛虫口腔分泌物中发现的食草动物相关分子模式（HAMP）Inceptin。INR是一种富含亮氨酸重复序列的受体样蛋白，对豆科植物的一个亚族菜豆亚科具有特异性。该项目将使用具有渐渗INR缺失的菜豆回交系来量化INR对整体食草动物防御的贡献。将在多个时间点和空间尺度上定量活体食草动物激发后的受体依赖性反应。反向遗传方法将被用来测试的贡献，推定的草食动物的具体因素。还将对新的豆类因子进行正向遗传筛选。该项目将测试这样的假设，即INR介导的对HAMPs的反应反映了与损伤相关的过程的放大以及强烈的抗草食动物防御反应的特定靶点。拟议的工作将跨越植物-病原体和植物-草食动物的相互作用，以促进植物生物相互作用中PRRs功能的整体观点。INR是转移到缺乏这种特异性PRR的豆类和非豆类物种（包括大豆）中的候选物。了解HAMP识别模块的免疫贡献将为使用PRR赋予农业性状提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Plants are defended from pests and pathogens through a sophisticated immune system to recognize attackers. The molecular pathways which control immune responses to chewing herbivores such as caterpillars are poorly understood. Detection of insect attackers is mediated by receptors at the plant cell plasma membrane which bind characteristic molecular patterns of attack and send intracellular signals to active defense responses. How these receptors carry out recognition and signaling functions is of critical importance for disease and pest resistance including in crop plants. This proposal seeks to define pathways and molecular factors which control plant responses to herbivores within an attacked plant leaf. Understanding these factors will allow targeted breeding and/or engineering of resistance traits against herbivores. The project will also launch an innovative cross-campus internship to solidify undergraduate identity as a plant biologist. Two undergraduates each summer will participate in the alternative campus’ Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) internship at University of Washington or UC Davis in a mentored research experience, before returning to their home campus for their senior year. Participation for each student in two plant immunity labs will strengthen confidence and feeling of self-efficacy in promising BIPOC or first-gen interns.The project will leverage Inceptin Receptor (INR), a newly discovered pattern recognition receptor (PRR) which detects Inceptin, a herbivore-associated molecular pattern (HAMP) found in caterpillar oral secretions. INR is a leucine-rich repeat-containing, receptor-like protein and is specific to a subtribe of legumes, the Phaseolinae. The project will use backcrossed lines of common bean with an introgressed INR deletion to quantify the contribution of INR to overall herbivore defense. Receptor-dependent responses following live herbivore challenge will be quantified at multiple timepoints and spatial scales. Reverse genetic approaches will be used to test the contribution of putative herbivore-specific factors. A forward genetic screen for novel legume factors will also be performed. The project will test the hypothesis that INR-mediated responses to HAMPs reflect amplification of damage-associated processes as well as specific targets for strong anti-herbivore defense responses. The proposed work will span plant-pathogen and plant-herbivore interactions to contribute to a holistic view of PRRs functions in plant biotic interactions. INR is a candidate for transfer into legume and non-legume species that lack this specific PRR, including soybean. Understanding the immune contribution of a HAMP recognition module will inform the use of PRRs to confer agricultural traits.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.