Molecular analysis of plant root-microbe interaction

目的*******植物根系提供机械支撑，从土壤中吸收水分和养分；然而，根也帮助植物与土壤环境相互作用。植物的生存和生产力在很大程度上取决于根系对土壤中生物和非生物因素的感知和响应能力。细菌是根际生物因子之一，影响植物根系的生理机能，进而影响植物的整体健康。通过选择性地增加有益细菌的数量，同时减少或尽量减少根际中表现出致病活性的细菌，这为改善植物健康和生产力开辟了潜力。要实现这一目标，必须清楚地了解介导根-细菌相互作用的植物和细菌因素。我的研究重点是了解影响这种根与微生物相互作用的植物因素，并探索如何利用这些信息提高农业生产力。我们要问的一个问题是：是否有植物基因允许有益细菌在植物根部选择性定植？为了解决这个问题，我们使用了模式植物拟南芥和细菌pv番茄DC3000（病原体）和恶臭假单胞菌（有益）。在之前的发现基金的支持下，我们已经确定了拟南芥单基因突变体，它们表现出两种不同的定植模式：i)支持病原体Pst DC3000生长的突变体，减少了有益细菌P. putida的定植；ii)促进病原菌Pst DC3000定植的突变体，减少了Pst DC3000的生长。拟议的研究计划将利用这些突变体来了解根与微生物相互作用的分子基础，重点研究目标基因编码的蛋白质。本研究计划的目标是：****1。目的研究病原菌和有益菌存在时靶基因的时空表达情况****2。表征由这些基因编码的蛋白质并识别相互作用的蛋白质。****这个拟议的研究计划将为根与微生物相互作用的遗传基础增加新的知识。在这个研究项目中鉴定的基因将有助于作物品种的发展，这些品种可以选择性地促进根际有益微生物的生长。开发这类作物品种将减少化肥、农药和水等农业投入物的使用，最终有助于可持续农业实践

Objective*******Plant roots offer mechanical support and absorb water and nutrients from soil; however, roots also help plants interact with the soil environment. The survival and productivity of plants depends largely on the ability of the root system to sense and respond to biotic and abiotic factors in the soil. Bacteria, one of the biotic factors in the rhizosphere influence the physiology of the plant root and subsequently the overall health of the plant. This opens the potential to improve plant health and productivity by selectively increasing the population of beneficial bacteria while reducing or minimizing those bacteria exhibiting pathogenic activity in the rhizosphere. To achieve this objective a clear understanding of the plant and bacterial factors that mediate root-bacteria interaction is essential. My research focuses on understanding the plant factors that influence this root-microbe interaction and exploring how this information can be used to improve agricultural productivity. One of the questions we are asking is: Are there plant genes that allow selective colonization of plant roots by beneficial bacteria? To address this question we are using the model plant Arabidospsis thaliana and bacteria Pseudomonas syringe pv tomato DC3000 [Pst DC3000] (pathogen) and Pseudomonas putida (beneficial). With the support from the previous Discovery Grant funding we have identified Arabidopsis single gene mutants that exhibited two contrasting colonization patterns: i) mutants that support growth of the pathogen Pst DC3000 and reduced colonization of the beneficial bacteria P. putida, and ii) mutants that promote colonization by P. putida linked to reduced growth of Pst DC3000. The proposed research program will use these mutants to understand the molecular basis of root-microbe interaction with emphasis on the proteins coded by the target genes. The objectives of this research program are:****1. To study the spatiotemporal expression of target genes in the presence of pathogenic and beneficial bacteria****2. To characterize the protein coded by these genes and to identify interacting proteins.****This proposed research program will add new knowledge on the genetic basis of root-microbe interactions. The genes identified in this research program will aid in the development of crop varieties that can selectively promote beneficial microbes in the rhizosphere. Development of such crop varieties will reduce the use of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, pesticides and water ultimately contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.***