Research Projects

Jasmonic acid (JA) signaling plays a critical role in the activation of plant defense responses against insect pests and necrotrophic fungi. JA receptor coi1 mutant plants show a severe breakdown of plant defense response upon insect infestation. In an EMs mutant population screen, AtPRL1 was identified as a novel JA signaling regulator (unpublished). Host lab will study the function of AtPRL1 in JA-mediated plant defense activation upon insect attack under the following objectives: (1) Investigation of the function of AtPRL1 in JA biosynthesis and signaling after herbivory; (2) Identification of AtPRL1 function in systemic defense response activation; (3) Analysis of secondary metabolites in atprl1 mutants after herbivory; (4) Investigation of AtPRL1 contribution in plant defense responses against insect pests and potential application in agriculture. Objectives 1, 2, and 3 will focus on the identification of AtPRL1 function in JA biosynthesis and signaling in local and distal tissues. It will be achieved by insect bioassays, JA quantification, JA marker expression analysis, and defense-related secondary metabolite quantification. Objective 4 will focus on the applied and translation aspect of the findings from previous objectives. Overall, the outcomes of the project will not only increase our fundamental understanding of plant defense responses against insect pests but also help us to design sustainable strategies to develop insect-resistant crop plants.