Project description
Plants' natural immunity to parasites could protect important crops
Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are among the most important crop-damaging species in parasitic worms. They attack the roots of nearly every species of higher plants including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants and have a worldwide distribution. Harnessing plants' innate immunity could provide a pathway to eco-friendly control of RKN infestation. The immune receptor gene Ma keeps some trees safe from a wide number of RKN species. In addition to the classical structure found in genes of the same family in other plant species, Ma displays a long terminal region with repeated domains that may play an important role in immunity. The EU-funded IMMUNE project plans to tease out the molecular mechanisms by which Ma triggers an immune response to RKNs with special attention to this region.
Objective
Plant-parasitic nematodes are major root pathogens that affect drastically plant development and growth. Predominant species, such as the root-knot nematodes (RKNs) Meloidogyne spp., represent a global threat for annual and perennial crops causing huge crop losses worldwide. In Europe, RKNs were mainly controlled by toxic pesticides that are getting banned. One of the most promising alternative to pesticides is to rely on biological control and on the plant innate immunity for disease resistance in crops. The plant immune system is a multi-layered network that enables the detection of pathogens using different classes of receptors. The presence/absence of such receptor can determine whether or not the plant will be resistant/susceptible to a particular disease. At INRA Sophia Agrobiotech Institute (ISA), an immune receptor gene Ma, from the toll/interleukin-1 receptor, nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (TIR-NB-LRR or TNL) family, has been cloned from the plum tree Prunus cerasifera where it provides a broad resistance against numerous RKN species. A unique feature of Ma resides in five repeated exons encoding a large C-terminal extention. Interestingly, each of those exons carries a recently characterized post-LRR (PL) domain which is found in a single copy in many other TNLs from different plant species. The PL domain’s function remains unknown but its conservation suggests an important role in TNLs. The peculiar architecture of Ma provides a great opportunity to decipher the involvement of the PL domain in TNL–mediated immunity. Combining complementary approaches, the proposed IMMUNE project aims to describe how Ma triggers immunity in response to RKNs in plant roots and how the PL domain participates in the recognition and signalling. This project, undertaken by Dr Simon Saucet at ISA, will provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity and contribute to the development of methods to control RKNs infection in crops.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75007 PARIS CEDEX 07
France
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.