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Molecular mechanisms underlying growth and defense in plants

Project

Project Details

Program
Plant Science
Field of Study
​Developmental biology, cell biology
Division
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Faculty Lab Link
https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/study/faculty/ikram-blilou
Center Affiliation
Center for Desert Agriculture

Project Description

When attacked by pathogens, plants allocate their energy and resources into defense responses at the expense of growth. Hence, understanding the mechanisms by which plants prioritize their responses is instrumental for improving plant defense and growth and consequently increasing crop yield. Recently, we have established a link between the defense hormone Jasmonic Acid (JA) and a transcription factor pathway with key roles in development. We have found that the developmental regulators BIRD proteins mediate Jasmonic acid defense response through interacting with core JA signaling pathway genes. The project aims to dissect the molecular framework underlying the dual function of these protein complexes. The identified signaling networks and pathways can then be rewired to allow simultaneous growth and defense. we will use the following tools: RNAseq, genome editing tools, fluorescence microscopy imaging amd a range methods for detecting protein-protein interactions in vitro and in vivo.

About the Researcher

Ikram Blilou
Professor, Plant Science
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division

Affiliations

Education Profile

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Genetics, Utrecht University, Netherlands, 1998-2003
  • PhD, CSIC and University of Granada, Spain, 1998
  • BSc Biology, University Abdelmlek Essadi, Morocco, 1994

Research Interests

Professor Blilou' s research focuses on how plant cells communicate to transfer positional information and to instruct specific functions during pattern formation. This involves studying regulatory networks that control protein movement and asymmetric cell division in plant roots, by mapping protein complexes in vivo at the cellular resolution, and by unraveling how their distinct spatial distribution leads to specific gene expression and proper cell fate acquisition. Professor Blilou's research group also aims to understand molecular mechanisms of growth/defense trade-offs in plants by unraveling how the same set of developmental genes can regulate defense response under stress conditions. The team also intends to understand adaptive strategies used by desert plants (using date palms as a model) to survive in hostile conditions.

Selected Publications

  • The Arabidopsis HOBBIT gene encodes a CDC27 homolog that links the plant cell cycle to progression of cell differentiation, Blilou, I. Frugier, F., Folmer, S., Serralbo, O., Willemsen, V., Wolkenfelt, H., Eloy, NB., Ferreira, PC., Weisbeek, P., Scheres B., Genes and Developement, 2002, 16:2566-75.
  • The PIN auxin efflux facilitator network control growth and patterning in Arabidopsis roots, Blilou, I., Xu, J., Widwater, M., Willemsen, V., Paponov, I., Friml, J., Heidstra, R., Aida, M., Palme, K., Scheres, B., Nature, 2005, 433. 39-44.
  • A bistable circuit involving SCARECROW-RETINOBLASTOMA integrates cues to inform asymmetric stem cell division, Cruz-RamA­rez A, DA­az-TriviA±o S, Blilou I, Grieneisen VA, Sozzani R, Zamioudis C, Miskolczi P, Nieuwland J, Benjamins R, et al, Cell, 2012, 150: 1002a-1015.
  • The zinc finger BIRD proteins jointly stabilize tissue boundaries by confining the cell fate regulator SHORT-ROOT and contributing to fate specification in Arabidopsis, Long, Y., Smet, W, Cruz-RamA­rez, A, Castelijns, B., de Jonge, W, MA¤hA¶nen, AP., Bouchet, BP., Sanchez Perez, G., Akhmanova, A., Scheres, B., Blilou, I., Plant Cell, 2015, 27, 1185a-1199.
  • In vivo FRET-FLIM reveals cell type-specific protein interactions in Arabidopsis roots, Long, Y., Stahl, Y., Weidtkamp-Peters, S., Postma, M., Zhou, W., Goedhart, J., Gadella, TWG Jr, Simon, R., Scheres, B & Blilou, I., Nature, 2017, 548: 97a-102.

Desired Project Deliverables

​The gained knowledge will be used to generate resistant crops with optimal growth behavior using genome editing tools.​
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