English

Elite grapevine cultivars often lack durable resistance to diseases, especially grapevine yellows diseases caused by phytoplasmas. As a result, EU countries spend millions annually to offset losses from grapevine yellows. Since direct control of phytoplasmas in plants is not possible, growers rely on indirect methods such as spraying insect vectors, pruning infected parts, and replanting. Both of the phytoplasma that cause grapevine yellows (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ (causing Bois noir) and Flavescence dorée) can only be managed by frequent pesticide use to control the insects that spread them. However, many effective chemicals have been banned, leaving no highly effective treatment currently available. The need for resistant cultivars and alternative disease management is imperative.

In this project we want to advance our knowledge about the plant-phytoplasma disease interactions with a focus on phytoplasma effector proteins, which are believed to be a crucial factor in symptom development. We hope this knowledge will help to advance strategies for prevention grapevine yellows diseases.

Specific objectives of the project

The main objective of this project is to study phytoplasma interactions in grapevines and model plants through the collaboration of an international project team with expertise in different aspects of phytoplasma research. By using a variety of innovative methods, including different transformation procedures, detection methods, OMICs analyzes, and sequence analyzes available in our laboratories, we aim to comprehensively investigate the role of both already identified and newly discovered effector proteins of ‘Ca. P. solani’ in grapevines infected by the pathogen.

Confirmation of the precise role played by the effectors studied is expected to provide valuable insights and offer numerous opportunities to advance research in the important field of plant immunity. In addition, it has the potential to contribute to the development of innovative strategies for the effective control of BN and other phytoplasma-induced diseases.
If we identify the most important effector proteins and their interactors, the results will open a plethora of new possibilities in research of breeding and disease management.

To achieve the main aim of this project we have set the following specific objectives:

• Characterize known and novel effectors from ‘Ca. P. solani’ strains.
• Analyze effector-host interactions, especially with plant transcription factors.
• Compare infected vs. healthy grapevines (including gene-edited variants).
• Use transformation and OMICs tools to explore symptom development mechanisms and effector function.

 

Slovensko:

Elitne sorte vinske trte pogosto niso odporne na bolezni, zlasti ne proti trsnim rumenicam, ki jih povzročajo fitoplazme. Zaradi tega države EU vsako leto porabijo milijone za nadomestilo izgub zaradi škode, ki jo povzročijo trsne rumenice. Ker neposredno zatiranje fitoplazm v rastlinah ni mogoče, se pridelovalci zanašajo na posredne metode, kot so škropjenje proti žuželkam, ki so prenašalci trsnih rumenic, obrezovanje okuženih delov trsov in ponovna zasaditev.

Obe fitoplazmi, ki povzročatatrsne rumenice (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, ki povzroča bolezen počrnelost lesa, in Flavescence dorée), je mogoče obvladovati le s pogosto uporabo pesticidov za nadzor žuželk, ki ju širijo. Vendar so bila številna učinkovita kemična sredstva prepovedana, zaradi česar trenutno ni na voljo nobenega visoko učinkovitega sredstva za zatiranje. Potreba po odpornih sortah in alternativnem obvladovanju bolezni je torej nujna.

V tem projektu želimo poglobiti naše znanje o interakcijah med rastlinami in fitoplazmami, s poudarkom na efektornih beljakovinah fitoplazme, za katere se domneva, da so ključni dejavnik pri razvoju simptomov. Upamo, da bo to znanje pomagalo pri razvoju strategij za preprečevanje bolezni, ki jih povzročajo trsne rumenice.

Cilji projekta

Glavni cilj tega projekta je preučevanje interakcij fitoplazem z rastlinami vinske trte in z modelnimi rastlinami, pri čemer sodeluje mednarodna projektna skupina s strokovnim znanjem na različnih področjih raziskav fitoplazm. Z uporabo različnih inovativnih metod, vključno z različnimi postopki transformacije, metodami detekcije, omičnimi analizami in analizami nukleotidnih zaporedij, ki so na voljo v naših laboratorijih, želimo celovito raziskati vlogo tako že identificiranih kot tudi na novo odkritih efektorskih proteinov fitoplazme ‘Ca. P. solani’ v okuženih rastlinah vinske trte.

Potrditev natančne vloge preučevanih efektorjev bo prinesla dragocena spoznanja in ponudila številne priložnosti za napredek raziskav na pomembnem področju rastlinske imunosti. Poleg tega lahko prispeva k razvoju inovativnih strategij za učinkovito obvladovanje bolezni, ki jih povzročajo fitoplazme.

Če bomo identificirali najpomembnejše efektorske proteine in njihove interaktorje, bodo rezultati odprli številne nove možnosti v raziskavah na področju selekcije vinske trte in obvladovanja bolezni, ki jih povzročajo fitoplazme.
Za dosego glavnega cilja tega projekta smo si zastavili naslednje specifične cilje:

• Opisati znane in nove efektorje iz sevov fitoplazme ‘Ca. P. solani’.
• Analizirati interakcije med efektorji fitoplazme in gostiteljskimi rastlinami, zlasti z rastlinskimi transkripcijskimi faktorji.
• Primerjati okužene in zdrave vinske trte (vključno z genetsko urejenimi variantami).
• Uporabiti orodja za transformacijo in omične pristope za raziskovanje mehanizmov razvoja simptomov in funkcije efektorjev.