Abstract Detail

Recent Topics Posters

Weaver , Tuesday Danielle [1].

Defining the mechanisms behind Pseudomonas syringae–induced mitochondrial dysfunction in Nicotiana benthamiana cells.

Agriculture and food production sciences focus towards combating the effects of disease or disorders to increase overall crop yield. This study utilizes Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, a model bacterial pathogen that is classically used to study plant-microbe interactions with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. DC3000 is known to target the host cell actin cytoskeleton (Henry-Ridilla et al., 2013; Shimono et al., 2016). Influence from the bacterial gene HopG1 is known to result in amplified disease symptom development, due to the perturbation of the host cell’s actin cytoskeleton (Shimono et al., 2016). This research focuses on the effects of HopG1 induction by transient expression assay. HopG1 was induced in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves; HopG1 protein accumulation has been confirmed at 48 hours after induction by western blot analysis. Cell death was observed in fresh tissue after both incubation times. Hydrogen peroxide (H­₂O₂) was also found after both 48 and 72 hours through 3,3′-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining. The production of H­_­2O₂ in plants is an indicator of cell stress (Petrov and Breusegem, 2012), therefore, the induction of HopG1 is concomitant. Overall, the results of the transient expression assay determine that the induction of HopG1 in plant host cells lead to production of H­₂O₂ in the mitochondria. Subsequent rupture of this organelle releases this chemical and leads to cell death. Future directions include confirming this relationship; in addition to an overview of the present works, this poster will therefore discuss additional projects that may lead to refined insight into this pathogenic interaction.  

1 - California State University, Fullerton; Michigan State University, Biology; Plant and Soil Sciences

Keywords:
Pseudomonas syringae
Plant-pathogen Interaction
Mitochondria Rupture
Transgenic Organism
Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Presentation Type:
Session: P, Recent Topics Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PRT010
Abstract ID:1375
Candidate for Awards:None