Pattern recognition receptors: discovery function and application in crops for durable disease control (PRR CROP)

植物病害严重限制了欧洲农业作物的产量。这些疾病可以用化学药品控制，但正在寻求减少化学药品投入的方法。因此，可持续农业方法更加强调植物控制病原体的遗传潜力。抗性基因在植物育种中被广泛应用于病害控制。然而，病原体很容易进化和突变，这导致田间抗性基因的“崩溃”。因此，可持续农业需要另一种更持久的抵抗形式。最近，对模式植物拟南芥的基础研究发现了一类新的蛋白质，称为模式识别受体（PRR’s），它可以识别不能突变或丢失的基本保守病原体分子。这些PRR代表了抵御潜在病原体的第一道防线，并提供了对广泛疾病的持久抗性的前景。该项目提高了我们对PRR的认识，使其可以应用于作物植物物种。我们将把重点放在谷物、芸苔和葡萄藤上，并将重点放在识别真菌和卵菌的PRR上，这些真菌和卵菌是这些作物的主要病原体。我们将从重要的作物病原体中识别出诱导植物第一道防线的新分子。我们还将在拟南芥和作物植物中寻找新的PRR，并研究其发育和环境对其性能的影响。我们还将测试已知的PRR在转化为作物植物时是否具有功能。这是英国、德国、荷兰和法国的欧洲研究小组之间的一个联合项目，还涉及与一家种子公司的合作。这项工作将使我们能够评估PRR在育种方面的潜力，以提供持久的疾病控制，从而减少对农用化学品的需求并使环境受益。

Plant diseases seriously limit the production of crops in European agriculture. The diseases can be controlled by chemicals, but ways to reduce chemical inputs are being sought. Sustainable agricultural methods are therefore placing increased emphasis on the genetic potential of plants to control pathogens. Resistance genes have been widely used in plant breeding to control diseases. However, pathogens readily evolve and mutate, which results in the 'break-down' of resistance genes in the field. Thus, an alternative, more durable form of resistance is required in sustainable agriculture. Recently, fundamental work with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has led to the discovery of a new class of proteins called Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRR's) which recognise essential conserved pathogen molecules that cannot be mutated or lost. These PRR's represent the first line of defence against potential pathogens, and offer the prospect of durable resistance to a broad range of diseases. This project advances our knowledge about PRR's so that it can be applied to crop plant species. We will concentrate on cereals, brassica and grapevine, and focus on PRR's that recognise the fungi and oomycetes which are the major pathogens of these crops. We will identify novel molecules from important crop pathogens that induce this first line of defence in plants. We will also look for new PRR's, both in Arabidopsis and crop plants, and investigate developmental and environmental effects on their performance. We will also test whether known PRR's function when transformed into crop plants. This is a joint project between European research groups in UK, Germany, Holland and France, and also involves collaboration with a seed company. The work will enable us to evaluate the potential of PRR's in breeding to provide durable disease control, so reducing the need for agrochemicals and benefitting the environment.