Project: Does HR need an MC?

2014-10-01 – 2020-10-31

Abstract

Disease can lead to big losses in agriculture and to date is the cause of intensive pest management. However, the plant can mount its own defense response, which sometimes culminates in localized cell-death surrounding the site of infection , called the hypersensitive response (HR). We were the first to show that proteases called metacaspases (MCs) play an important role during HR. With the use of proteomics and transcriptomics we will test the hypothesis if metacaspase function is needed, and at what stage and place it functions during HR, resulting in better understanding of plant immunity and potentially leading to improvements of pest management.