Syllabus
* Lectures: 1 Model organisms used for plant immunity studies; cell wall-based defence; stomata as pathogen-entry sites 2 Pathogen perception repertoires, pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns (PAMP and DAMP) triggered immunity 3 Pathogen effectors and their targets; Effector-triggered susceptibility and immunity 4 Guardees, resistance proteins (R) and down-stream signalling 5 Defence-related hypersensitive response (HR) and plant cell death (PCD) 6 Pathogen invasion strategies 7 Defence-related transcriptional, metabolic and phytohormonal reprogramming 8 Specialized plant structures involved (not only) in defence (plasmodesmata, trichoms) 9 Symplast and apoplast in plant defence 10 Root immunity 11 Plant growth-promoting microorganisms 12 Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR), Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR) and priming Practical part organization and topics: The practical part would be held in IEB, Prague 6, always as 4 blocks, in 4 subsequent days, once per semester; each block might last 3-4 h. The topics of the blocks would be: Block 1 Elicitors and/or B. graminis application on wild type and interesting defence mutant; stomata closure, callose staining; MAPK signalling western blot Block 2 non-virulent Pseudomonas Pst hrcC- versus virulent Pst, in interaction with A. thaliana, using wt and mutant, flooding and/or infiltration Block 3 Roots and root hair growth with pathogenic and growth-promoting bacteria Block 4 HR-PCD - syringe infiltration of Pst bacteria (avirulent and virulent) into the leaves of A. thaliana, HR-provoking and delaying
Annotation
The course Plant immunity would cover the most known molecular genomic/proteomic aspects and strategies of the defence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana against various pathogens. The time-line of the course will mirror the multi-layered arrangement of the immunity, starting from the constitutively existing surface barriers, via various receptor-ligand and effector-target activations, to the guardee-resistance proteins interactions, leading to a final decision on resistance or sensitivity, life or death.
Restriction of the immunity study to one model plant might help to better understand this complicated and densely branched net of sometimes counterintuitive reactions and responses, that are constantly co-evolving along with the pathogen infection strategies, and are adjusted to the needs of plants for growth and development.