Objective
This research collaboration aims at creating the knowledge basis for a significant innovation in protecting plants from fungal diseases.
Currently, the control of fungal diseases in all major crops is based on fungicides possessing biocidal activity against the target organism(s). A reduction in the use of such biocidal plant protectants can be achieved by two strategies:
I) improvement of plant resistance by plant breeders, or
2) interference with specific fungal pathogenicity factor(s), which are responsible for fungal aggressiveness and infection.
The second strategy requires a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the infection mechanism. We have located severe gaps in the science of plant pathology and plant protection concerning the 'attack weapons' of the very important necrotrophic pathogens. Necrotrophs need to kill the plant tissue before invading and colonising it. The process of killing (necrotisation) is the crucial step that determines the success of infection. For several economically important pathogens such as the grey mould fungus, Botrytis cinerea, the necrotising factors are not known. B. cinerea causes severe losses in a wide range of crops such as rapeseed, sunflower, beans, cabbage, onions, lettuce, strawberries, ornamentals, grapevine and it also represents a post-harvest problem of many fruits.
The threat imposed by this fungus requires the intense and constant use of fungicides in many of these crops. This research proposal builds on the recent discovery that oxidative forces are involved when B. cinerea infects the plant. We demonstrated that aggressive infections trigger an early 'oxidative burst' in the infected plant cells which leads to rapid host cell death and thus enables the infection. As opposed to biotrophic pathogens, which are hindered by this socalled 'hypersensitive response' (HR), infection by necrotrophs appears to benefit from this plant reaction. We have shown that aggressive 'active oxygen species'(AOS), such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals are generated in the early phases of infection but the sources and pathways of their production are completely unknown.
The processes underlying this oxidative attack are highly complex and their elucidation requires experts from the different disciplines of plant science, such as plant pathology, fungal and plant genetics, biophysics and biochemistry.
We have gathered a group of eminent scientists from Europe and Israel covering these areas, who are dedicated to combine their expertise and make a significant contribution to our understanding of oxidative processes in plant diseases.
The immediate objectives, which can be achieved within this research project are
- characterising the oxidative events during infection,
- identifying sources and induction pathways of active oxygen species,
- establishing the role of the fungus and the plant in oxidative burst events
- pinpointing sites for a potential disruption of the infection process.
The long-term objectives, which can be achieved in succession to the 3-year work programme, are
- transferring the described principles of necrotrophy to other necrotrophic pathogens,
- developing novel strategies of non-biocidal disease control based on inactivated pathogenicity,
- collaborating with industrial partners to exploit the knowledge for novel disease control strategies and
- developing non-biocidal technologies of plant protection against necrotrophic pathogens.
This research proposal describes a highly innovative approach to create the basis for a durable and smooth way of protecting cultivated plants from necrotrophic pathogens. The results from this research will stimulate the producers of plant protectants to design new strategies of control which will meet even tighter environmental requirements than those existing today. Additionally, plant breeders may benefit from this research in their efforts to discover and utilise sources and markers of resistance.
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
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
- natural sciences biological sciences botany
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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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.
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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.
Coordinator
18051 ROSTOCK
Germany
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.