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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

PROTECT: Priming for Resistance Of Trees and its Effects on microbial CommuniTies

Alternative title: Protek: Priming av granforsvar og effekten på mikrobiomet

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

Spruce trees protect themselves from pest and pathogens using a wide range of defenses. These defenses adapt to changes in the environment. These defenses can also be sensitized so that they can be more rapidly activated upon attack. This sensitization is similar to a person getting a vaccination. Like humans, plants live in relationship with beneficial microorganisms. These organisms help plants to be healthy and avoid sickness. In this project, we seek to better understand how sensitizing of the Norway spruce immune response effects their relationship with helpful microorganisms and how these microorganisms effect the Norway spruce immune response. We will identify novel spruce vaccinating chemicals that increase spruce resistance with minimal secondary effects, such as growth inhibition. We will also determine the effects of vaccinating on spruce associated microorganisms and the effects of these microorganisms on spruce defenses. Knowledge gained from this project will deepen our understanding of the relationship between spruce and its microorganisms. In addition, we hope to find a solution to use less pesticides, protect spruce from damage and develop a more sustainable and profitable forestry practices. In laboratory experiments, we have tested the effects of seed treatment with several natural chemicals on seedling resistance. We have found some new promising vaccinating chemical. In our greenhouse experiment, we continue to see phenotypic difference between plants from seeds treated with different vaccinating chemicals and planted in soil with different microorganisms.

To protect themselves from pests and pathogens, plants have evolved multi-layered resistance mechanisms that include both constitutive and inducible defenses. These defense mechanisms are not static, but are adaptive to environmental changes. Sensitizing of inducible defenses is an important adaptation that allows an organism to activate its defenses more quickly upon detecting a threat. In plants, this sensitization is called defense priming and is similar to immunological memory in animals. Epigenetic modifications is an important mechanism by which defense priming occurs. Plants also rely on beneficial microorganism to improve their stress tolerance and pathogen resistance. These symbiotic relationships both affect and can be affected by epigenetic changes to the plant genome. In this project, we seek to better understand how defense priming of Norway spruce affects the establishment of beneficial microbial communities, and how these communities in turn affect spruce resistance to pests and pathogens. We will identify novel spruce priming chemicals that increase spruce resistance with minimal secondary effects, such as growth inhibition. We will also determine the effects of spruce defense priming on its microbiota diversity and the effects of microbiota diversity on spruce defense priming and resistance. Additionally, we will determine the effects of both defense priming and microbiota on the spruce epigenome, hormone signaling pathways, the accumulation of defensive molecules, and defense gene expression. Knowledge gained from this project will deepen our understanding of the spruce holobiont (spruce and its microbiota) and help us to better assess the ecological implication of Norway spruce defense priming. Such knowledge is crucial if we are to utilize defense priming as an effective pest management strategy in forestry.

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Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram