Location: Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research
Project Number: 8062-21000-042-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Feb 26, 2017
End Date: Feb 25, 2022
Objective:
Objective 1: Characterize the genomes of emerging and persistent bacterial plant pathogens, including Pectobacterium and Dickeya species, to identify pathogenicity and virulence factors.
Objective 2: Functionally characterize key metabolic and virulence pathways that contribute to pathogenesis in emerging and persistent bacterial pathogens of potato and tomato.
Sub-Objective 2.1: Characterize bacterial regulators that contribute to virulence.
Sub-Objective 2.2: Characterize the roles of bacterial genes involved in calcium precipitation.
Sub-Objective 2.3: Identify genes involved in host-pathogen interactions.
Objective 3: Develop and test strategies that target pathogen biology or host interactions for control of emerging and persistent bacterial plant pathogens.
Sub-Objective 3.1: Test anti-virulence (AV) approaches for inhibiting bacterial virulence and plant disease.
Sub-Objective 3.2: Identify novel inhibitors that target bacterial genes involved in calcium precipitation.
Sub-Objective 3.3: Identify and characterize antisense RNA molecules that target metabolic or virulence factors of bacterial pathogens.
Objective 4: Develop datasets and computational tools to facilitate the development and refinement of genomes, genome annotations, and other data sets for type strains and field isolates of select bacterial plant pathogens [NP303, C2, PS2A].
Sub-Objective 4.1: Develop deep proteogenomic data sets to guide the annotation of poorly characterized type strains and field isolates of select strains of bacterial plant pathogens and other plant-associated bacteria.
Approach:
Bacterial plant pathogens cause significant economic losses by reducing crop yields and value or by degrading post harvest handling and storage qualities. High value, vegetable, fruit and nursery crops, are particularly vulnerable because diseases reduce productivity and value by diminishing appearance. The threat of newly emerging plant pathogens has increased due to the combined influence of globalization and climate change, which serve to introduce and alter pathogen range and disease dynamics. As such, research is needed to develop novel control strategies that enable growers to quickly and effectively respond to emerging and persistent bacterial plant pathogens.
Our proposed studies will use state of the art high-throughput genomic and molecular methods to understand how bacteria infect and cause plant disease and how this information can be directed toward the development of novel methods to manage bacterial plant pathogens of agricultural importance. Specifically, we will focus our efforts on bacterial pathogens of solanaceous crops, such as bacterial speck of tomato caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and blackleg disease of potatoes caused by a disease complex that includes Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. We expected to discover novel conceptual information regarding microbial adaptations that facilitate plant associations and disease. This information will guide new and environmentally sound management strategies that target features of the pathogen's biology or host interactions, specifically virulence factors. Our proposed studies are expected to result in new and innovative approaches for managing plant pathogens and ultimately increase plant health and production.
