The Heat Is On: plant immunity in a warming climate

Background

The CAM-BINDING PROTEIN 60 (CBP60) protein family is involved in various aspects of plant health, including plant growth, responses to stress, and immunity. CBP60 contributes to plant immune responses, such as pattern-triggered immunity, effector-triggered immunity, and the synthesis of important metabolites that activate the plant's immune system, such as salicylic acid (SA) and N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP). Although similar CBP60 sequences have been found throughout the plant kingdom, their precise functions and regulatory mechanisms in most species remain poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, this research aims to investigate the presence and characteristics of CBP60 homologs in Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum spp.).

Research questions:

1. How many CBP60 homologs of Arabidopsis are present in chrysanthemum? What is the phylogeny and structural similarity of CBP60 homologs in chrysanthemum?
2. What is the role of CBP60 homologs after pathogen infection? Are they involved in plant immunity against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. chrysanthemi?
3. Is the gene expression of CBP60 temperature-sensitive?
4. Is there a correlation between SA biosynthesis and CBP60 expression in relation to heat delay in chrysanthemum cultivars?

Techniques/experiments:

• Protein sequence analysis and phylogeny
• Alphafold structure prediction and similarity
• Infection of chrysanthemum (Wild species, cultivated species which are resistant and susceptible to heat delay) with Fusarium and elicitation with Benzothiadiazole at 23֯C and 30֯C.
• Gene expression analysis of CBP60 homologs
• Salicylic acid biosynthesis
• immunity-related genes using qRT-PCR.

References

• "Too hot to defend: a tale of salicylic acid." Suraj, H. M., M. SharathKumar, and J. A. L. van Kan. Trends in Plant Science (2022)
• "Enhancement of stem elongation and flower bud regeneration by salicylic acid." Handro, W., Mello, C. M., Manzano, M. A., & Floh, E. I. (1997). R. Bras. Fisiol. Veg, 9(2), 139-142.
• "Structural diversity and stress regulation of the plant immunity-associated CALMODULIN-BINDING PROTEIN 60 (CBP60) family of transcription factors in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)." Shivnauth, V., Pretheepkumar, S., Marchetta, E.J. et al. Funct Integr Genomics 23, 236 (2023)