Objective
Plant defence depends on speed: the sooner a plant recognises its attacker, the more effective its defence response will be. Over the course of evolution, plants have acquired the ability to prime their immune system after perception of specific environmental signals. This heightened state of defence enables a faster and/or stronger activation of inducible defence mechanisms after pathogen attack, providing resistance against a wide range of diseases. Based on a phenotypically similar response in human immune cells, this plant resistance response is called “defence priming”.
The primed defence state is not accompanied with an increased expression of costly defence mechanisms. Consequently, broad-spectrum disease resistance by defence priming is not associated with major reductions in plant growth and reproduction. Furthermore, defence priming can be maintained over a relatively long period of time, which is why it is often regarded as a form of immunological plant memory. Despite these attractive properties for application in sustainable agriculture, there are still many unanswered questions about the mechanistic basis of defence priming. The main objective of this ERC proposal is to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning two poorly understood aspects of the phenomenon:
1. the onset of primed defence.
2. the long-term maintenance of primed defence, including the intriguing phenomenon that the primed defence state can be transmitted from pathogen-exposed plants to their progeny.
Using state-of-the-art techniques in the field of molecular biology, biochemistry, and (epi)genetics, this project will address the overarching question of how plants adapt their immune system to the conditions in their environment. This project will allow me to generate new insights in the regulation of plant defence and provide tools that can be used to develop novel strategies for sustainable crop protection.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture sustainable agriculture
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
S10 2TN Sheffield
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.