Discovery and dissolution of the constraints that have been derived to plants during their adaptation process to nature

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19257
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Agricultural and Environmental Biology and related fields
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Miyashita Shuhei 東北大学, 農学研究科, 助教 (60556710)
• Research Collaborator: Suzuki Machi ; Sietske van Bentum ; Saijo Yuki
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 進化 / 栽培化 / 数理モデリング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Plant genomes contain many R genes, of which products function as receptors to detect pathogens to induce resistance against them. In many cases, R-gene mediated resistance cause autonomous cell death, which might contribute for inclusion of the pathogens to the infected regions. The current study showed that MOI, the average number of viral genomes that establish infection in a new cell, decreases in the presence of an R gene, even before the occurrence of cell death. A simulation model was developed to show that systemic necrosis, which occurs upon insufficient induction of resistance, can function as a suicide strategy against pathogens, by helping the infected individuals avoid becoming an infection source to neighbor plants, which are often kins in the case of plants.

Free Research Field

植物病理学／農学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

全ての植物に備わっているR遺伝子によるウイルス抵抗性を、数字(MOI)で記述できる可能性を本研究で示すことができた。これにより例えば、ウイルス抵抗性機構へのそれぞれの遺伝子の寄与を数字で評価できるようになる可能性がある。このことは、新しいウイルス抵抗性作物の作出に寄与する可能性がある。また、不完全な抵抗性誘導であっても自然界においては集団レベルでの生存戦略として機能する可能性を本研究で示すことができた。このことは、R遺伝子の進化過程の学術的理解に大きく寄与するものであるとともに、応用研究においては新奇R遺伝子の探索に新たな可能性を与えるものであると考えられる。