Plants that have survived a pathogen attack remember the experience, and this project will find out how—then try to build that memory into naive plants from scratch. This matters because crops currently rely on pesticides or genetic resistance that pathogens eventually overcome. Plants naturally possess a form of immune memory called priming: after an initial infection, they respond faster and more forcefully to a second attack. The mechanism is unknown, but the researcher suspects that chromatin—the protein–DNA packaging that controls gene activity—is reshaped into a “poised” state that speeds up gene reactivation. The project will map that chromatin signature, identify the proteins that read it, and discover the machinery that maintains the memory across cell divisions. If successful, the work will reveal the fundamental principles of how cells perpetuate active gene states—a question that extends beyond plants to all eukaryotes, including humans. The final aim is to engineer Arabidopsis plants that are primed without ever encountering a pathogen. This is fundamental science, not an immediate agricultural product. But understanding how to artificially induce transcriptional memory could eventually lead to crops that resist disease without chemical treatments, reducing pesticide use and stabilising food supply chains.
View original technical description
Plants have evolved the capacity to form 'memories' of pathogen attacks and other environmental stresses. These memories enable plants to mount a more vigorous response when the stress is encountered again. This effect, known as 'priming', has been observed across eukaryotes. Consistent with the ability of chromatin to carry information across mitotic and sometimes even meiotic divisions, recent research has linked chromatin changes to priming. However, it is not known how such chromatin changes produce a more effective response. Given that rapid deployment of transcriptional programs is critical for overcoming stresses, an attractive hypothesis is that priming re-sculpts chromatin to adopt a transcriptionally poised state that facilitates re-activation of stress-response genes. The proposed work will test this hypothesis for pathogen priming in Arabidopsis thaliana and will then seek to engineer plants to be primed for pathogen attack. In preliminary work, I have identified several pathogen primed genes, and I have established new tools that will allow me to address previously inaccessible questions regarding the mechanism by which chromatin confers transcriptional memory. In Aim 1, I will reveal the chromatin signature of priming (genomic techniques). In Aim 2, I will identify the factors acting downstream to perceive primed chromatin (quantitative proteomics). In Aim 3, I will discover the machinery required for transcriptional memory (forward and reverse genetics). In Aim 4, I will use the insights gained from Aims 1-3 to ask which chromatin features are necessary and sufficient to establish pathogen-primed transcriptional memory (epigenome engineering). This research, at the interface of epigenetics and immunity, will provide fundamental knowledge of the chromatin mechanisms that perpetuate active gene states, and explores the potential to instil primed 'memories' into naïve plants.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know