Signaling interactions between pattern- and effector-triggered immunity in plants

Plants have an immune system that is activated when they detect pathogen attack. There are two modes of plant immunity, each triggered by different types of pathogen-derived molecules as cues of attack. How these two modes of immunity influence each other to modify the immune response is not well understood. This project will precisely measure the influence of each mode upon the other and seek to discover the plant proteins that mediate cross-mode interactions. Since the two modes are central in plant immunity, this project will potentially extend our understanding of how plants use their immune system to defend themselves against pathogens. Potential applications of the work include tools and knowledge to improve the performance of the plant immune system in agricultural settings, which can lead to better control of crop diseases with less impact on the environment. Another important aspect of this project is training undergraduate students who have limited time for research work. While this project functions as a pilot case for a new undergraduate training platform, the platform will be easily expanded to involve more students at multiple sites. Therefore, it has the potential to improve biology education for a large number of undergraduate students. Since this project involves statistical and computational components as well as biological components, post-doctoral, doctoral, and undergraduate students will be trained in broad areas of science and engineering.