Post-translational regulation of transcription dynamics in plant immunity

Precise regulation of gene transcription is vital for all organisms. In eukaryotes, dynamic changes in gene transcription orchestrate cell development and cellular responses to the ever changing environment. Failure to fine-tune gene transcription may have disastrous consequences for an organism, often resulting in disease or even death. Gene transcription is regulated by a myriad of transcriptional regulators. However, the mechanisms that control the activity of these regulators remain poorly understood. To investigate this we study the plant immune response. This system lends itself particularly well to studies of transcriptional regulators as activation of plant immunity is associated with rapid and dramatic transcription reprogramming of thousands of genes.

Our studies have uncovered that post-translational modification of transcriptional regulators plays a crucial role in regulating the expression of plant immune genes. Transcriptional regulator activity is controlled by redox-based modifications of cysteine residues, including disulphide bonding and S-nitrosylation (i.e. the covalent attachment of nitric oxide to a cysteine residue), as well as ubiquitination coupled to proteasome-mediated protein degradation. These different post-translational modifications may regulate the activity of regulators by modifying their localization, conformation, and stability. In this PhD project you will use a wide range of genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic and biochemical strategies to unravel how specific post-translational modifications affect the activity of immune-related transcriptional regulators and what their effects are on disease resistance. Ultimately, an in-depth understanding of the cellular switches that control immune activity will enable us to develop novel crop protection strategies.

There will be an optional opportunity to perform part of the research programme at the University of Nagoya to obtain a joint Edinburgh-Nagoya PhD degree.

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