Developing a molecular toolkit to study anti-microbial immunity in Rosaceae

• Grant number: 21/06835-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Applied Botany
• Principal Investigator: Beatriz Appezzato da Glória
• Grantee: Márcia Gonçalves Dias
• Supervisor: Jacqueline Monaghan
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Queen's University, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/17428-7 - Anatomical and biochemical comparison among raspberry species (Rubus spp.) with different resistance levels to late leaf rust (Pucciniastrum americanum), BP.DR

Abstract

Plant diseases are a threat to both the maintenance of biodiversity and the production of food. Throughout their evolutionary history, plants have evolved several mechanisms for dealing with environmental and biotic stressors. When plants recognize microbes occur, the signalling and responses by different pathways. Recognize how these responses work will provide essential knowledge to understand their biological role in plants and manage plant diseases.The reactive oxygen species are formed as an early response to the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, leading to the plant basal defense activation. We will establish a protocol to assess oxidative burst following immune elicitation for species of Rosaceae, a globally important plant family. The Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CPDKs) are another important signal transducers occurring in the plant-pathogen interactions. These kinases are evolutionarily conserved, and there are still few described for Rosaceae. For this, we will identify and analyze the CDPKs groups across this plant family. Ultimately, we will focus on the IV group CPDKs, especially the CPK28, since it is a hub in plant immunity responses. Using a transgenic approach, we will start to understand immunity in Rosaceae. All analyses will be supervised by professor Dr. Jacqueline Monaghan, known for her distinguishable research in the plant immunity domain. Understanding how plant immune receptors perceive ligands and signal transducers act will provide essential knowledge to engineering resistance into crop plants and benefit global food security. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DIAS, MARCIA GONCALVES; SOLEIMANI, FARANAK; MONAGHAN, JACQUELINE. Activation and turnover of the plant immune signaling kinase BIK1: a fine balance. ESSAYS IN BIOCHEMISTRY, v. 66, n. 2, p. 12-pg., 2022-08-01. (21/06835-3)