Plant immunity strategies against microbial pathogen infection

This offer focuses on the study of the defense mechanisms that allow plants to control pathogen attack. In particular we will explore the action of oxylipins in plant immunity, a family of lipid derivatives playing critical roles in the activation of the immune response in plants and in limiting pathogen infection and crops losses. Our studies demonstrate the participation of the 9-LOX and alpha-DOX oxylipin pathways in the defence mechanisms activated by Arabidopsis following infection by hemibiotrophic bacteria. We showed that these oxylipin pathways participate in the three layers of defence -pre-invasion, apoplastic and systemic defence- triggered by plants to prevent Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 infection. We aim to achieve a deeper understanding of the role of these oxylipin pathways, and of their derivatives, as activators of plant defense responses.  The availability of pure oxylipins as well as of a collection of oxylipin mutants (noxy mutants) impaired in signaling the defense responses regulated by these products represent a valuable tool that will be used throughout the project to facilitate our studies.