Feed the world: engineering disease resistance in rice. (BANFIELD_J17DTP)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Graduate Office
Abstract
Plant diseases are a continuous threat to food production and a major constraint on achieving food security. Receptors of the plant immune system are critical agents in the fight against disease. Plant NOD-like receptors (NLRs) survey the intracellular environment for signatures of non-self, typically the presence and/or activity of translocated pathogen effector proteins, and trigger a response. One approach to addressing yield loss in crops due to plant diseases is to understand the molecular basis of interactions between NLRs and the effectors they have evolved to detect. This may allow engineering of these interactions to improve disease resistance in the field.
This project will focus on two NLRs from rice that use a similar protein domain, integrated into the NLRs, to recognise different effectors from the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. M. oryzae is the most devastating disease of rice, estimated to destroy enough rice to feed >212 million people annually. The student will apply biochemical/biophysical/structural and in planta approaches to direct probe physical interactions between the different proteins that trigger resistance. They will test the effects of varying the interfaces of these proteins in vitro and, working with collaborators in Japan, can have their predictions from in vitro experiments tested in vivo. The student will have the opportunity to travel to Japan to be involved in some of these experiments.
This project will focus on two NLRs from rice that use a similar protein domain, integrated into the NLRs, to recognise different effectors from the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. M. oryzae is the most devastating disease of rice, estimated to destroy enough rice to feed >212 million people annually. The student will apply biochemical/biophysical/structural and in planta approaches to direct probe physical interactions between the different proteins that trigger resistance. They will test the effects of varying the interfaces of these proteins in vitro and, working with collaborators in Japan, can have their predictions from in vitro experiments tested in vivo. The student will have the opportunity to travel to Japan to be involved in some of these experiments.
Publications
Bentham A
(2018)
Uncoiling CNLs: Structure/function approaches to understanding CC domain function in plant NLRs
in Plant and Cell Physiology
Bentham AR
(2020)
A molecular roadmap to the plant immune system.
in The Journal of biological chemistry
Zdrzalek R
(2020)
The rice NLR pair Pikp-1/Pikp-2 initiates cell death through receptor cooperation rather than negative regulation
in PLOS ONE
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BB/M011216/1 | 30/09/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
1937637 | Studentship | BB/M011216/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/09/2021 | Rafal Zdrzalek |
Description | Hiromasa Saitoh |
Organisation | Tokyo University of Agriculture |
Country | Japan |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Characterization of provided proteins. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial discovery of proteins. |
Impact | To early to assess the impact. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Karine Montet de Guillen |
Organisation | University of Montpellier |
Department | Centre for Structural Biochemistry |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Expression and purification of the protein for structural and biochemical charaterization. |
Collaborator Contribution | NMR studies of provided protein. |
Impact | Too early to assess outcomes. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Ryohei Terauchi |
Organisation | Iwate Biotechnology Research Centre |
Country | Japan |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Functional and structural characterization of provided proteins. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial identification of proteins. Potential transformation of rice plants. |
Impact | Too early to assess outcomes. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | The Sainsbury Laboratory |
Organisation | John Innes Centre |
Department | The Sainsbury Laboratory |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Protein expression, purification and biochemical characterization of 2 interacting proteins. |
Collaborator Contribution | Identification of aforementioned protein and initial discovery of potential interaction, including studies in planta. |
Impact | No outcomes available yet. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | School visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The Student gave a talk in a high school about his project and life of a PhD student, as well as about being a researcher itself The talk was attended by nearly 100 pupils and sparked a discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |