Projects

This project aims to address significant crop production losses due to pests and pathogens by investigating complex interactions between the plant and other organisms in an agro-ecological setting. While mechanisms of two-way plant-pathogen and plant-pest interactions are explored in substantial detail, three-way interactions, despite their ecological importance, have not been well studied at the molecular level. We have chosen to investigate the three-way interaction system of potato, its pathogen potato virus Y (PVY), and its vector, the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae ). We propose to investigate this system using high-throughput sequencing, complemented by statistical and network analysis for hypothesis generation, focusing particularly on the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). These molecules, crucial in post-transcriptional regulation, have not been comprehensively studied, especially in the context of three-way interactions. Our key objective is to identify and validate molecular interactions that act across interacting organisms (cross-kingdom), such as the impact of plant ncRNAs on aphid targets and vice versa. 

Our approach involves conducting a comprehensive three-way interaction experiment, sampling potato leaves and aphids at key time points to obtain high-quality transcriptomic expression data encompassing mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and diverse small RNAs. We will perform differential expression analysis to pinpoint regulated genes, ncRNA and processes in both plants and aphids. Further, we will integrate the existing prior-knowledge-based plant immune signalling network with the cross-species ncRNA-mRNA network built from experimental data generated in the proposed project. Using innovative network analysis approaches, we will identify the most interesting predictions of cross-kingdom ncRNA-target interactions for validation by biochemical and gene knockdown assays. Furthermore, we will examine the contribution of these molecular interactions to the outcome of two-way or three-way interaction experiments with potato and M. persicae . 

This project will open a new perspective for understanding the interactions between plants, plant viruses, and their aphid vectors and holds strong potential for biotechnological applications in the field of crop protection. We anticipate that our findings will contribute to the development of new plant protection strategies and a more sustainable agriculture.

SICRIS