Developing crops that have stable immunity to evolving pathogens in a changing climate

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Lahaye
• Subject Area: Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 552839528

Current climate models predict a global average temperature increase of 1-4°C by 2100. The aim of this project is to study the effects of climate change on plant-pathogen interactions, and in particular on the plant immune system, in order to improve the disease resistance of crops in a changing climate. We will study the effects of climate change on immunity in crop plants using isogenic pepper genotypes carrying functionally distinct cloned resistance genes (R/r). We will study three different types of r/R genes: 1) NLR-type R proteins, the most abundant class of R proteins, which recognize microbial effector proteins and trigger immune responses that typically induce a hypersensitive cell death (HR) response in the plant. 2) Executor-type R genes, which recognize microbial effector proteins via binding elements of their promoters, causing expression of the executor R gene and triggering HR. 3) Host susceptibility genes (S genes) that the pathogen needs to reproduce and that, when mutated, confer recessive inherited resistance to the pathogen. We will first use climate chamber experiments to determine whether r/R genes, which are mechanistically fundamentally different, differ in thermotolerance. We will then use recently developed genome editing approaches to transfer thermotolerant pepper R genes into the tomato genome. To study the impact of climate change on plant immunity and Xanthomonas under field conditions, we will conduct a multi-generation field experiment in open-top chambers that takes into account seasonal climate variability. In particular, we will investigate how temperature variation affects the interaction of host R genes with pathogen virulence mechanisms to challenge pathogen infection dynamics and selection patterns at the gene level. The proposed project takes a synergistic approach combining physiology, host-pathogen dynamics, and the application of novel genome editing tools to develop more climate-resilient crops.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom, USA
• Partner Organisation: Biotechnology und Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Cooperation Partners: Professorin Courtney Leisner, Ph.D.; Professorin Neha Potnis, Ph.D.; Professorin Gail Margaret Preston, Ph.D.