Patron Group: Engineering Regulators of Plant Defence

Supervisor:

Dr Nicola Patron

Background:

Genetic technologies can be used to enhance crops and promote sustainable agriculture. However, the manipulation of traits governed by multiple genes can be challenging. Plant responses to the environment, including to biotic and abiotic stressors, are often controlled by multiple genes, coordinated by complex regulatory networks. Recent advances in genomics and computational modelling allow dynamic responses to environmental perturbations to be measured and the underlying networks inferred.

Importance of Research:

Lactuca sativa (lettuce) is an economically valuable leafy vegetable with UK production worth >£200 million but is susceptible to plant pathogens including the fungal necrotrophs Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. There is an urgent need to identify or engineer sources of host genetic resistance as fungicide-resistant isolates are becoming increasingly common, and approved fungicides are being withdrawn though legislation.

Project Summary:

Genetic loci contributing to quantitative resistance against B. cinerea have been mapped in a number of plant species, however, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying these loci remains lacking, making engineering unpredictable. In an ongoing collaboration with the Denby Lab (University of York) and the Morris lab (John Innes Centre), we have modelled and validated a causal gene regulatory network mediating resistance against B. cinerea and S. sclerotiorum in lettuce. Within this network, several WRKY transcription factors act as both negative and positive regulators of defence processes. This project will investigate (i) how these WRKY TFs contribute to plant defence (ii) the conservation of this function across plant lineages, (iii) how individual WRKY proteins are they able to act as both positive and negative regulators, and (iv) if they can be predictably manipulated to improve quantitative resistance.