Developmental Regulation of Cell Fate And Disease Resistance in Plants
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Authors
Plett, Jonathan
Date
2010-10-20T19:43:43Z
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
ethylene , trichome , ACC Deaminase , Fumonisin , Poplar , Activation tagging , hormone , pest resistance
Alternative Title
Abstract
Plant-wide communication between tissues and cells is organized, in part, by a suite of compounds called hormones. I have chosen to focus on the effects of one plant hormone, ethylene; how its synthesis is controlled and how its perception is mediated to differentially control cell development and response to pathogens.
In the production of ethylene, one level of control is by modulating the levels of the immediate precursor to ethylene, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). I characterize here a plant encoded gene homologous to bacterial ACC Deaminases, AtACD1, and show through up- and down-regulation of the gene that it can modulate the plants sensitivity to exogenous ACC. Once ethylene is produced, it is sensed in Arabidopsis thaliana by a family of 5 receptors. I show that ETR2 in Arabidopsis is responsible for modulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton assembly as loss-of –function mutations to this gene cause randomized microtubule assembly in trichomes and increase sensitivity to microtubule depolymerising drugs in root hairs. In studies of plant:pathogen interactions, ethylene is a central signaling agent required for plant resistance. While it has been shown that etr1 mutants show increased susceptibility to fungal pathogens, exogenous ethylene has also been shown to speed the progress of pathogenesis. Using Fumonisin B1 (FB1) to induce cell death I show that etr1-1 has accelerated cell death while ein4-1 has a reduced rate of necrosis. Further to this, mutations to the other three ethylene receptors do not have any effect on the rate of cell death.
My interest in cell development led to the characterization of an activation tagged Populus tremula x P. alba line with increased trichome initiation. The gene responsible for these phenotypes was identified as PtMYB186, which also affected growth rate, transpiration rate, photosynthetic capacity, and resistance to the Tussock moth larvae.
Together these studies provide a new framework for our understanding of how the ethylene signal is modulated in plants and the controls behind cellular development. This knowledge will help reconcile studies which show that ethylene has different effects on plant development and provide new avenues of research into trichome development.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2009-01-13 10:08:03.605
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