Descrizione del progetto
I segnali di avvertimento volatili: come piante e insetti recepiscono il messaggio
L’attacco degli insetti a danno delle piante si traduce in cambiamenti notevoli nelle sostanze volatili emesse dal fogliame delle piante, condizionando sia il comportamento degli insetti che il metabolismo delle piante. Tuttavia, il meccanismo tramite il quale le piante percepiscono e reagiscono a tali sostanze volatili rimane sconosciuto. Il progetto VOLARE, finanziato dall’UE, scoprirà il meccanismo di percezione dei principali segnali volatili delle piante e il loro ruolo nell’ecofisiologia di piante e insetti. Il progetto si fonda su ricerche precedenti sui segnali volatili di fogliame verde, le quali hanno rilevato la presenza di una classe di enzimi che influisce profondamente sulle interazioni ecologiche, mutando i pennacchi di odore attorno a una pianta. Tali cambiamenti hanno effetti peculiari sul comportamento degli insetti e sul metabolismo delle piante. Il progetto VOLARE farà progredire i precedenti risultati di ricerca, chiarendo il modo in cui piante e insetti percepiscono gli acetati di E-2-esenale ed esenile.
Obiettivo
Plant leaves can emit large amounts of volatiles into the air. When attacked by insects, the composition of these blends changes markedly. It is well known that these changes affect not only the behavior of insects interacting with the plant but also the metabolism of the plant itself as well as its nearby competitors. However, how plants perceive these volatiles and generate a functional response is not known.
My research activities have been dedicated to a group of plant volatiles emitted the earliest upon herbivory, the so-called green leaf volatiles (GLVs). I discovered a class of enzymes, present in plants and insects, that profoundly affect ecological interactions by converting the highly abundant GLV Z-3-hexenal into E-2-hexenal (Science 2010, eLife 2013, Frontiers in Plant Science 2017). These two compounds, as well as their derivatives, among which Z-3- and E-2-hexenyl acetate, have distinct effects on the behavior of herbivorous and predacious insects as well as on the metabolism of plants.
Here I propose to take my program to the next level by elucidating how plants and insects perceive E-2-hexenal and hexenyl acetates. First I will use a classical mutagenesis screen and a cutting-edge technique called chemical yeast 3-hybrid (Y3H) to identify plant proteins involved in signal processing and especially perception of volatiles. With the newly identified genes in hand I will create non-responsive mutant plants to investigate the role of these key volatiles in the plant's self-recognition and its interactions with herbivorous insects and pathogens. Simultaneously, I will use Y3H to also identify insect proteins that directly interact with either E-2-hexenal or E-2-hexenyl acetate and I will create non-responsive insects using CRISPR-Cas9 and assess how this affects their behavior. This interdisciplinary research project will uncover the perception mechanism of key plant volatile signals and the roles these play in the (eco)physiology of plants and insects.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsignal processing
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiology
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbotany
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-STG - Starting GrantIstituzione ospitante
1012WX Amsterdam
Paesi Bassi