Analyses of the primary metabolism of nematode-induced syncytia
Abstract
The plant parasitic nematode Heterodera schachtii infects among several crop species also the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The parasites induce the formation of specific feeding structures in the plant roots that serve as their sole nutrient source. The required solutes have to be provided by the host plants thus leading to severe damages. Previous studies focussed on the sugar supply of the feeding structures during nematode development. However, incoming solutes may be taken up by the parasites as such or they may be further processed to meet the specific needs of the nematodes and to facilitate the dramatic re-organisation and thus functioning of the syncytia. At present, metabolic processes and pathways in nematode feeding structures are largely unknown. In the present project we plan to analyse products of the primary metabolism of nematode feeding sites by GC-MS. Further, the application of stable isotopes will enable us to follow the dynamics of certain pathways. The information gained in the first part of the project will then be used in the second part. We will choose specific metabolic pathways and enzymatic reactions that showed significant alterations due to nematode infections and study them in detail. Molecular biological techniques such as qRT-PCR and gene silencing as well as enzyme reaction assays and metabolite measurements will be performed. The results of this project will contribute considerably to deepen the understanding of the interaction between cyst nematodes and their hosts. The application of gene silencing and T-DNA insertion mutants will provide information on the function of involved genes and therefore reveal clues for new strategies to develop resistance against cyst nematodes.
keywords molecular biology phytopathology plant physiology Heterodera schachtii metabolic profiling
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BOKU partners
External partners
Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (Golm)
Dr. Joachim Kopka
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