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Too Much of a Good Thing: Understanding Plants' Overactive Immune System Will Help MU Researchers Build Better Crops
May 28, 2009COLUMBIA, Mo. - A plant's immune system protects the plant from harmful pathogens. If the system overreacts to pathogens, it can stunt plant growth and reduce seed production. Now, University of Missouri researchers have identified important suppressors that negatively regulate the responses of the immune system in the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Understanding the immune system of plants would allow breeders to create better yielding crop plants.
"The immune system provides plants with strong protection from pathogens," said Walter Gassmann, associate professor of plant sciences in the MU Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. "However, this response has the potential to be highly deleterious to the plant and needs to be tightly controlled. Certain suppressors protect the plant from responding to harmless stimuli and from overreacting to pathogens. If there is a mutation in these suppressors, the immune system can actually do more damage than good."
One way that plants fight pathogens is through effector-triggered immunity (ETI), which relies on the detection of pathogen effector proteins (proteins that are deployed by pathogens to interfere with the plant immune system). After the detection of a pathogen, specific proteins in the plant, known as resistance proteins, elicit an effective defense response. The plants' resistance proteins are regulated by suppressors to achieve minimal side effects to the plant while providing optimal responses to pathogens. However, when the ETI is overly activated, it can cause stunted growth and poor seed production.
In the study, MU researchers examined plants with genetic mutations that resulted in heightened plant immunity. By examining this mutation, researchers were able to identify specific genetic components that may negatively regulate the immune system and thus contribute to an appropriate immune response.
"The general control of effector-triggered signaling is poorly understood," Gassmann said. "Better insight into the immune system response will allow us to develop plants with more durable safeguards against pathogens."
Gassmann's research has been published recently in The Plant Journal and Plant Signaling & Behavior. The papers were co-authored by former post-doctoral researcher Soon Il Kwon, current graduate student Sang Hee Kim, current post-doctoral researcher Saikat Bhattacharjee, and former visiting scientist Jae-Jong Noh.
University of Missouri
Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSSResearchers find new way to attack inflammation in Graves' eye disease
A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms - and improved vision - following treatment with the drug rituximab.
Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another
Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer
Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases.
Common Pain Relievers May Dilute Power of Flu Shots
With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers - Advil, Tylenol, aspirin - at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system.
American Dietetic Association Releases Updated Position Paper Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding
The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.
Daily dose of color may boost immunity this flu season
Hoping to keep the flu at bay? A strong immune system helps. Enjoying the bounty of colorful fruits and vegetables available right now can be an important step toward supporting your family's immune system this cold/flu season.
Immune therapy can protect against or treat later lymphoma
Specially developed immune system cells that target the common Epstein-Barr virus can protect immune-suppressed bone marrow transplant recipients against lymph system disease and cancers that arise from the viral infection.
PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative shares strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines
Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Study reveals a 'missing link' in immune response to disease
The immune system's T cells have the unique responsibilities of being both jury and executioner. They examine other cells for signs of disease, including cancers or infections, and, if such evidence is found, rid them from the body. Precisely how T cells shift so swiftly from one role to another, however, has been a mystery.
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