Characterizing the Defense Hierarchy of Populus trichocarpa
The U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture are developing bioenergy crops as a sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Plant disease threatens this effort by inhibiting the efficient production of plant feedstocks for bioenergy. In particular, biotrophic Melampsora leaf rust pathogens can increase morbidity in Populus trichocarpa and its hybrids (aka poplars), the primary woody feedstocks for bioenergy. Controlling rust disease in plantations is thus critical to the success of the poplar bioenergy program. Current efforts to control rust disease focus on plant genetic resistance. However, with novel pathogenic variation generated by the global movement of pathogens and their hybridization, it is increasingly clear that controlling rust disease in a long-lived plant like Populus depends on our ability to understand and manage not only genes for rust resistance, but also short-lived plant microorganisms that contribute to defense against rust (aka “defense mutualists”). Our proposed research thus seeks to develop an integrative, hierarchical model of P. trichocarpa defense that integrates genetic resistance and defense mutualists. Our overarching hypothesis is that defense against Melampsora rust is biologically degenerate, with major and minor plant resistance genes, plant defense compounds, and defense mutualists within the microbiome each contributing to rust resistance under different circumstances. The specific aims of our study will test the placement of each of these factors in the defense hierarchy. Ultimately, it is our hope that disease management strategies harnessing both resistance genes and naturally occurring defense mutualists of P. trichocarpa, and an appreciation of the ecological circumstances in which each is effective, will maximize plant resistance and productivity while minimizing impacts on the surrounding ecological landscape.