Ubiquitination and acetylation in rice proteins in face to Magnaporthe oryzae

• Grant number: 22/15782-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Márcio de Castro Silva Filho
• Grantee: Priscila Ariane Auler
• Supervisor: Justin William Walley
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Iowa State University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/05852-1 - Differential proteomics and functional characterization of PR4 proteins in Oryza sativa acting as a defense pathway to biotic stresses, BP.PD

Abstract

Rice blast disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most serious diseases for the cultivated rice in the world (Oryza sativa). The use of plant host-resistant ability is the most effective and economic way to control this diseases. Proteomic technologies have been used as effective tools in plant - pathogen interactions to study the biological pathways involved in pathogen infection, plant response, and disease progression. Several proteomics studies have been conducted over the past decade to decipher the mechanisms of rice - M. oryzae interactions. In addition to general proteomics, post-translational modifications (PTM) can modulate enzyme activity, protein structure, and interaction with other proteins, thus impacting protein function and/or localization within the cell. Ubiquitination is one of the most important and common PTMs in plants and animals. In the past few years, advancements have been made toward understanding the role of ubiquitination in regulating immune signaling. Lysine acetylation is a conserved post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins occurring both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. It has been shown that the acetylation level of plant protein changes significantly after infection by the pathogen. Due to the great importance of PTMs studies, this project aims to identify the ubiquitinated and acetylated proteins during the infection by Magnaporthe oryzae in two rice genotypes at different expositions times. In addition, the other objective is to relate the data found, through bioinformatics analyses, with those already deposited in online databases and to predict functions to better understand plant- responses to biotic stresses. (AU)