You are what you eat? Plant nutrient status and the performance of insect herbivores

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Plant adaptation to changing environments A
role for GM
Dr Jeremy Pritchard _at_DrJPritchard
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Ecology Organisms Cells Molecules
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Molecules Transcription and Translation
DNA mRNA Protein
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Population growth
Climate change
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Conventional breeding has been going on for
10,000 years
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Why Sequence Genomes?

• Will eventually tell us what genes do
• Leads to Medical Applications
• Leads to Agricultural Applications
• Tells us about evolution
• Tell us how we develop
• Tell us how we are different to cabbages, mice
  and chimps

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Applications of GM crops
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Examples from my research

• Knockouts What does a gene do?
• Localisation Where is it expressed?
• Transcriptomics How do genes respond?

Must combine Molecular with Physiology
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Knockout (loss of function)
Coding region makes protein
Turns on specific gene
Gene Promoter
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Knockout (loss of function)
Coding region makes no or truncated protein
Insertion
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Reporter genes
Remove coding region
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Reporter genes
Coding region makes fluorescent protein
New coding region
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Phloem reporter gene
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Salinity the silent flood
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Salt crosses membranes through protein
gates These gates control salt levels in xylem
Salt
Salt
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Bioinformatics- Arabidopsis the model plant
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ctgtcttctcactaaactccaaaacccaccggaaaaatgattacgtggca
cgacttgtacaccgtcctcaccgccgtggtaccactttacgtagctatga
ttctttacggcaatatttcacgcctacggatccgtacagtggtggaagat
attctcaccagaccagtgctccggcacaaccgcttcgtcgctatcttcgc
cgtccctctcctctccttccacttcatctccaccaacgat
CHx21
DNA Sequence
MSSGAPLNVTNPNYDIEESRFGKIVCYDQSLLFEKREQKGWESGSTLASS
LPFFITQLFVANLSYRVLYYLTRPLYLPPFVAQILCGLLFSPSVLGNTRF
IIAHVFPYRFTMVLETFANLALVYN
Amino acid Sequence
Computer says it looks like a salt transporter
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Immunology- protein is detected in root
endodermis
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Is the computer right? Find out make knockout
mutants
ctgtcttctc actaaactcc aaaacccacc ggaaaaatga
ttacgtggca cgacttgtac accgtcctca ccgccgtggt
accactttac gtagctatga ttct ttacg
tggcaatatt atcacgccta cggatccgta cagtggtgga
agatattctc accagaccag tgctccggca tcaaccgctt
cgtcgctatc ttcgccgtcc ctctcctctc cttccacttc
atctccacca acgatcctta cgccatgaat
Insert extra sequence This means stop no
protein is made
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Xylem sampling from transpiring plants
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Leaf salt is lower in mutant xylem and leaf
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• Bioinformatics
• 5 similar sequences to CHX21
• In pairs on chromosome 1 2

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1. Duplication
2. Translocation
3. Diversification
CHX5 CHX14 CHX23
Chromosome 1
Chromosome 2
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Evolution in action
From this...
EVOLOTION
.a better adapted plant
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Dr Jeremy Pritchard _at_DrJPritchard
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Slides and other resources are available as
PowerPoint Email me J.Pritchard_at_bham.ac.uk or
go to http//www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/bioscie
nces/outreach