Sweet immunity

Plants are continuously exposed to various environmental stresses and pathogen attack. To cope with stress, plant metabolism needs to be adjusted to enable a fast, adaptive physiological response. Protein phosphorylation by kinases represents an important means of regulating metabolism either indirectly or directly by fine tuning the activity of metabolic enzymes. SnRK1 is an important protein kinase involved in energy sensing and in translating this information into metabolic adaptation, thus contributing to plant resistance under various types of stresses. We have identified another plant protein kinase which positively regulates salt stress tolerance and pathogen resistance and is able to modulate the SnRK1 activity in planta. This bilateral collaborative project will study the mechanism(s) how SnRK1 activity is regulated by the novel protein kinase and investigate the role of both protein kinases in the sweet immunity response (increased tolerance and immunity associated with increased sugar levels). Spraying plants with natural, plant-derived compounds such as sugars or secondary metabolites can enhance their defence response by priming. Overall, this project will not only increase our knowledge of basic stress resistance mechanism but may also contribute to develop cheap, natural alternatives to toxic agrochemicals, important for sustainable agriculture.