RAC/ROP signaling in the interaction of Arabidopsis and barley with powdery mildew fungi

• Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Ralph Hückelhoven
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Organismische Interaktionen, chemische Ökologie und Mikrobiome pflanzlicher Systeme
• Förderung: Förderung von 2007 bis 2014
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 37334421

Small monomeric RAC/ROP GTPases are molecular switches in cell polarity and plant defence responses. To identify barley RAC/ROP-interacting proteins (RAC/ROP-IPs), we have carried out a non-targeted yeast two hybrid screening for barley HvRAC1-interacting proteins. This revealed 28 potential interaction partners including promising candidates involved in regulation of RAC/ROP activity, signalling, endocytosis and exocytosis. A HvRAC1-binding kinase and a novel cytoskeleton associated RAC/ROP GTPase activating protein have been found to influence the interaction outcome of barley and Blumeria graminis. These RAC/ROP-IPs are now subject of detailed analysis of their function in interaction of barley and Arabidopsis with powdery mildew fungi. Additionally, we analysed 54 Arabidopsis mutant genotypes corresponding to barley RAC/ROP-IPs for aberrant powdery mildew infection phenotypes. This revealed 7 mutants super-susceptible or partially resistant to fungal pathogenesis. We are going to analyse corresponding barley and Arabidopsis RAC/ROP-IPs in respect to in planta protein-protein interaction and to their role in cellular reprogramming during the plant-fungus interaction.

• DFG-Verfahren: Schwerpunktprogramme
• Teilprojekt zu: SPP 1212: Microbial reprogramming of plant cell development