“Élvonal” project (2019-2023)
Problems to solve
It is not known that beyond the antimicrobial activity of the cationic NCR peptides what the mode of action of the peptides in symbiosis is. This raises several questions at different levels:
- How are the non-cationic peptides targeted to the bacteroids?
- Which residues and fragments are important for the activities of the peptides? What other genes might have influence on their activity?
- How do the peptides affect/alter the bacterial cell envelope during differentiation of the endosymbionts?
- How do the changes in cell envelope modify the uptake of/interaction with symPEPs?
- What are the bacterial targets of symPEPs?
- What are the roles of the IRLC-specific GRPs and the Medicago-specific SNARPs during the symbiosis?
As peptides can act in long distant signaling, it remains to be elucidated whether symPEPs can have effects on plant growth and development
Objectives
- Determination of changes in the bacterial surface upon NCR challenge and the effect of modified surfaces on the interaction with symPEPs
- Identification of the bacterial proteins interacting with symbiotically important plant peptides
- Identification of plant and bacterial factors that might suppress the lack of certain peptides
- Investigation of the role of symbiotic peptides during symbiosis and plant development and identification of peptides with unique function