Vaccines that Activate the Innate Immunity in Plants

DIAZ RICCI, JUAN C

Buenos Aires

Workshop; Die Zukunft der deutsch-argentinischen Wissenschaftskooperation gestalten; 2018

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Plants are continuously subjected to the attack of pathogens and can survive because they have evolved specialized defense mechanisms to cope with the intruders. The investigation of the mechanisms by mean of which plants can activate the innate immunity constitutes the main objective of the research I am conducting at INSIBIO. When plants get in contact with microorganisms a multitude of molecules of different nature participate in the interactions, and depending on whether the plant recognizes a particular molecule or not will react letting the intruder to penetrate the plant tissue, or mount a defense strategy to repel it, or reduce its effect. The molecules involved in the onset of a defense response are called ?elicitor?. These molecules can activate a series of molecular and cytological events that prepare the plants to fight against the invaders. Numerous types of elicitors have been reported including proteins, peptides, glycoproteins, lipids, and oligosaccharides which were isolated from bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. In our laboratory we have isolated and characterized two types of molecules exhibiting the capacity to induce the innate immunity in plants. One of them is a 34 kDa (286 aa) protein obtained from the isolate SS71 of the fungus Acremonium strictum, called AsES, and other is an 936 Da ellagitannin obtained from strawberry leaves. Both molecules were studied in our laboratory, and proposed as plant vaccines against the fungal pathogens Colletotrichum acutatum and Botrytis cinerea, the etiological agents of the anthracnose and gray mold diseases, respectively.