Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C001370/1
Evolution of plant resistance to pathogens: natural variation in a resistance gene in Arabidopsis
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr B Emerson, University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor J Turner, University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Abstract:
- All organisms can be seen as having a basic similar need for resources so that they can grow and reproduce. Plants and their pathogens are in what can be seen as a constant battle with each other to gain such resources. Plants need to secure resources for growth and successful reproduction that will culminate in the release of fertile seeds. Anything that acts to limit the growth of a plant can be seen as a bad thing as it will ultimately limit the reproductive output of the plant. Microbes face the same problem. They too need to secure resources for growth, which are ultimately directed toward successful reproduction. When a plant and a microbe find themselves competing for the same resources, one can expect a conflict to emerge between the two. In the case of powdery mildew pathogens which infect the plants Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale Cress) and Arabidopsis lyrata the plant tissue itself is the resource for the pathogen. The more plant tissue the pathogen can gain access to the better will be its reproductive output. But for the plant, the less tissue it allows the pathogen to take, the better it is for its own reproductive output. The constant battle mentioned above is fought over access to the plant tissue 'resource' that both the plant and the pathogen need to maximise. In this project we are investigating the occurrence of a group of genes (called RPW8) used by Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata to prevent powdery mildew pathogens from surviving on the Arabidopsis tissue. There are many forms of these genes, and we have already found that this variation directly relates to how well the plant can protect itself. Some forms provide good protection, whereas others do not. We want to know why a gene exists if it doesn't work to protect a plant. To answer this question we first need to know how common the different forms of the gene are in the wild. We will, therefore, obtain DNA sequences from plants collected at various locations within UK and across Europe and relate these sequences to the ability of the plants to combat the powdery mildew pathogens. Different locations may comprise different pathogens (or no pathogens at all) and be influenced by different environmental conditions. These conditions may also change constantly. It is possible that this favours different forms of the resistance gene in different locations. One way that a high number of different forms can persist in the wild is if one form, favoured in one location, is constantly being dispersed to neighbouring locations via seeds or pollen. We want to investigate how far seeds and pollen can disperse and how often this occurs. As seeds and pollen are very difficult to track in the wild, we will do this indirectly by investigating certain parts of the genome (microsatellites) of plants at different locations and then use statistical methods to determine how likely they are to have dispersed from another population recently.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C001370/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £20,413
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs |
|---|---|
| £2,276 | £18,137 |
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