Location: Crop Production and Pest Control Research
Project Number: 5020-21220-014-015-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
End Date: Feb 28, 2023
Objective:
1) Characterize the substrate specificity of the Fg effector proteases.
2) Generate decoy targets, based on the gene (BPS1) for the RNA-binding suppressor, that activate resistance in wheat and barley upon cleavage by Fg proteases.
3) Initiate transformation of susceptible wheat and barley varieties with the PBS1 derivatives.
Approach:
Identification of cleavage site sequences for each of the candidate proteases will be determined using a high-throughput, yeast-based system. In parallel, we will also test whether the candidate Fg proteases are required for virulence.
Based on the results from Objective 1, we will generate wheat and barley PBS1 decoy proteins and confirm that they are cleaved by the corresponding protease using a transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana. In parallel, we will transiently express the PBS1 derivatives and corresponding protease, along with a reporter of cell viability in wheat or barley protoplasts to test whether protease-dependent cleavage activates an immune response in planta.
