Sugarcane EST Project: identification and annotation of proteins involved in the regulation of plant-microbe interactions

• Grant number: 00/07435-2
• Support Opportunities: Genome Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2000
• End date: July 31, 2002
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Marcio Rodrigues Lambais
• Grantee: Marcio Rodrigues Lambais
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We have been working on plant-microbe interactions for several years, specifically on arbuscular mycorrhizae, and recently we begin working on citrus-Xylella interaction, as part of the Xylella Functional Genomics Project. We are interested in studying genes differentially expressed in mycorrhizae and citrus-Xylella, in order to understand the mechanisms regulating the development of the associations. In this context, we are submitting a proposal to FAPESP for the characterization of 10,000 ESTs from sugar-cane roots colonized by an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, at low and high phosphate conditions and two developmental stages, aiming to identify genes involved in the regulation of the symbiosis. For the data mining project we propose to identify and annotate proteins involved in the Regulation of Plant-Microbe Interactions, comparing ESTs from sugarcane associated with different microorganisms (i.e. mycorrhizae, associative endophytes, pathogens) with public databases and SUCEST database. This new theme involves proteins related to plant defense, plant nutrition and signal transduction. We believe that this comparative analysis will bring new insights into the field of plant-microbe interactions, and might allow the identification of biotechnologically important genes. (AU)