Projects - S (Suraj) Hassan Muralidhar MSc

MSc student's thesis projects:

1. Understanding the role of the transcription factor CBP60g in plant immunity in Chrysanthemum. CBP60g is a master immune regulator that controls the expression of genes involved in plant immunity. In this study, we investigate the phylogeny of CBP60g and identify pathogen-induced and temperature-sensitive CBP60g in chrysanthemums. Our findings will help us to understand the role of CBP60g in plant immunity and to develop strategies to improve the resistance of chrysanthemums to pathogens. Read more about the loss of plant immunity under a warming climate here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2022.10.001  

Techniques used: Infection assays, RNA isolation,  qRT-PCR, protein structure prediction using alphafold2, making gene knock-outs in Fusarium oxysporum.

2. Understanding plant immunity against Necrotrophic pathogens under a warming climate. Plant immunity is compromised against biotrophic pathogens under higher temperatures. However, it is not known what happens against necrotrophic pathogens. In this project, we use two different necrotrophic pathogens and infect various Arabidopsis mutants that are immune compromised at 23C and 28C. We will analyse the expression of immunity-related genes using qPCR. 

3.  Understanding the role of membrane repair in plant-pathogen Botrytis cinerea against plant defense compound tomatine by making gene-knockouts / over-expression strains and localizing the GFP/RFP-tagged proteins under a confocal microscope. 

Techniques used: Infection assays, qPCR, plant metabolite extraction, spot assays, anti-fungal plate assays, LC-MS, molecular cloning, CRISPR-Cas9, cell biology, and microscopy.