Plant immunity - MB130P39
Title: Plant immunity
Czech title: Rostlinná imunita
Guaranteed by: Department of Experimental Plant Biology (31-130)
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Actual: from 2022
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 4
Examination process: summer s.:oral
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/1, Ex [HT]
Capacity: unlimited
Min. number of students: 5
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Note: enabled for web enrollment
Guarantor: Tamara Pečenková, CSc.
Teacher(s): Tetiana Kalachova, Ph.D.
Tamara Pečenková, CSc.
Opinion survey results   Examination dates   SS schedule   
Annotation -
The course Plant immunity would cover the most known molecular genomic/proteomic aspects and strategies of
the defence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana against various pathogens. The time-line of the course will
mirror the multi-layered arrangement of the immunity, starting from the constitutively existing surface barriers, via
various receptor-ligand and effector-target activations, to the guardee-resistance proteins interactions, leading to a
final decision on resistance or sensitivity, life or death. Restriction of the immunity study to one model plant might
help to better understand this complicated and densely branched net of sometimes counterintuitive reactions and
responses, that are constantly co-evolving along with the pathogen infection strategies, and are adjusted to the
needs of plants for growth and development.
Last update: Konrádová Hana, RNDr., Ph.D. (27.04.2022)
Literature -

Agrios, George N. How plants defend themselves against pathogens, Plant Pathology, 2005, Elsevier

Buchanan, B.B., Gruissem, W., Jones, R.L.: Biochemistry and molecular biology of plants, American Society of Plant Physiologists, Rockville, Maryland 2015

Various updated on-line available research articles and reviews on studied topics

Last update: Konrádová Hana, RNDr., Ph.D. (27.04.2022)
Syllabus -

* Lectures:
1 Model organisms used for plant immunity studies; cell wall-based defence; stomata as pathogen-entry sites
2 Pathogen perception repertoires, pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns (PAMP and DAMP) triggered immunity
3 Pathogen effectors and their targets; Effector-triggered susceptibility and immunity
4 Guardees, resistance proteins (R) and down-stream signalling
5 Defence-related hypersensitive response (HR) and plant cell death (PCD)
6 Pathogen invasion strategies
7 Defence-related transcriptional, metabolic and phytohormonal reprogramming
8 Specialized plant structures involved (not only) in defence (plasmodesmata, trichoms)
9 Symplast and apoplast in plant defence
10 Root immunity
11 Plant growth-promoting microorganisms
12 Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR), Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR) and priming

Practical part organization and topics: The practical part would be held in IEB, Prague 6, always as 4 blocks, in 4 subsequent days, once per semester; each block might last 3-4 h. The topics of the blocks would be:
Block 1 Elicitors and/or B. graminis application on wild type and interesting defence mutant; stomata closure, callose staining; MAPK signalling western blot
Block 2 non-virulent Pseudomonas Pst hrcC- versus virulent Pst, in interaction with A. thaliana, using wt and mutant, flooding and/or infiltration
Block 3 Roots and root hair growth with pathogenic and growth-promoting bacteria
Block 4 HR-PCD - syringe infiltration of Pst bacteria (avirulent and virulent) into the leaves of A. thaliana, HR-provoking and delaying

Last update: Pečenková Tamara, CSc. (08.01.2023)