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Transgenerational immune priming in plants

Project: Research

Description

This three year project will investigate the biological mechanisms underlying transgenerational immune priming, the recently discovered phenomenon of plants which experience stress generating a 'memory' which can be inherited by their offspring.
These memories are manifest as primed defence responses, which means that the offspring of plants infected by disease or pests are more resistant to these diseases or pests than their parents. Not only can the immediate descendants of infected plants show enhanced defences, but so too can their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren.
Since the DNA sequence of the genes in these plants is unchanged, the most likely mechanism for the memory effect is that it is brought about by chemical modifications of chromosomes. Such “epigenetic” modifications are reversible, allowing genetic changes which are not fixed, and which are therefore well-suited to controlling short- to medium-term responses to the environment.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/09/14 → 31/12/17
Linkshttp://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/robertmr/index.html

Funding

  • BBSRC: £446,086.00

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