Characterization of the Arabidopsis-spider mite interaction

为了应对可持续农业生产和减少农药使用的全球挑战，必须开发新的环境安全的方法，以补充现有的以农药为基础的作物保护计划。主要农作物基因组/遗传资源的快速发展，以及新的育种技术，为选择抗性植物提供了合理的基础。虽然主要植物病原菌的基因组资源有助于植物抗病育种计划，但节肢动物草食动物缺乏类似的资源。对节肢动物、草食动物如何与植物相互作用的基本了解，对于开发新的作物保护方法至关重要。 我们最近测定了二斑蜘蛛Tetranychus urticae的基因组序列，Tetranychus urticae是最具多食性的节肢动物之一，也是全球农业的主要害虫之一。该物种以200多个不同植物科的1000多种植物为食，其中包括许多重要的农业作物。我们已经建立了TSMM作为一个模式草食动物，利用分子、遗传和基因组工具。TSMM正在以一种植物模式生物拟南芥为食，该模式拥有关于防御途径的信息以及可用的遗传和基因组工具。 我们建立了拟南芥-蜘蛛相互作用系统，目的是为了了解它们相互作用的分子机制。在这项提案中，我们将：a)表征蜘蛛取食/植物损害的模式；b)确定植物对蜘蛛取食的感知；c)确定氧脂在调节植物对蜘蛛取食的防御中的作用；d)确定蠕虫对吲哚硫代葡萄糖苷的适应机制；以及e)确定植物对蜘蛛取食反应的自然变异的潜在基因。实现这些目标将培训HQP的广泛技能，包括遗传学、植物和螨类基因组学以及生物信息学、生理学和显微镜，使他们在学术界或行业的职业生涯中具有竞争力。

To meet the global challenge of a sustainable agricultural production with a reduced pesticide use it is imperative to develop novel environmentally safe methods that can complement the current pesticide-based crop protection programs.The rapidly developing genomic/genetic resources in major crops, together with new breeding technologies, are providing a rational basis for the selection of resistant plants. While genomic resources for major plant pathogens facilitate plant breeding programs against diseases, similar resources are lacking for arthropod herbivores. A fundamental understanding of how arthropod herbivores interact with plants is crucial for development of new approaches to crop protection. We have recently sequenced the genome of two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae, one of the most polyphagous arthropods and one of the major pests in agriculture worldwide. This species feeds on over 1000 plant species belonging to more than 200 different plant families, including many agriculturally important crops. We have established TSMM as a model herbivore with molecular, genetic and genomic tools. TSMM is feeding on a plant model organism Arabidopsis thaliana that has the repertoire of information available on defense pathways and available genetic and genomic tools. We have established the Arabidopsis-spider mite interaction system with the long-term objective to understand molecular mechanism of their interaction. In this proposal, we will: a) characterize the mode of spider mite feeding/plant damage; b) identify plant perception of spider mite feeding; c) define the role of oxylipins in the regulation of plant defense against spider mite herbivory; d) identify the mechanism of mite adaptation to indol glucosinolates; and e) identify genes underlying natural variation in plant response to mite herbivory. Realization of these Objectives will train HQPs in wide range of skills, including genetics, plant and mite genomics and bioinformatics, physiology and microscopy making them competitive for careers in academia or industry.