Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Goldenberryis a specialty fruit crop susceptible to insect damage, preventing itssuccessful adoptionin the U.S. Groundcherry, a close relative of goldenberry, exhibits a higher resistance against insectscompared with goldenberry. A group of chemical compounds called withanolides found in these plants could be the mechanism behind the insect resistance differences.Withanolide amountdata generated from groundcherry lines with mutations in genes that promote withanolide productioncanbe correlated with data concerning insect behavior on these groundcherry linesto identify particular withanolides with large effects on insect resistance. The results of this work will provide a foundation for identifying breeding targets for improvement of insect resistance in goldenberry.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
80%
Applied
20%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
In my proposed research, two questions will be addressed: 1) What phenotypic effect does knocking out expression of three key branching genes in the withanolide biosynthetic pathway have in relation to plant-insect interactions? 2) Can specific withanolide compounds with large effects be identified through correlation of RNAseq, metabolite profile, and insect bioassay data?Overall, the mechanism through which withanolides affect herbivorous insect behavior and specific withanolide compounds that have large effects on the observed phenotypes in Physalis griseawill be identified. These results can be used to determine breeding targets to increase insect resistance in Physalisperuviana, thereby increasing its agroeconomic potential in the United States (US).
Project Methods
A collection of homozygousPhysalis griseawithanolide mutants have been developed. An LCMS/MS metabolite profile is generated for each of the mutant lines, and analyzed to identify withanolide variation compared to wildtype. Insect bioassays will be performed to observe the effect of withanolide variation in the mutants on plant-insect interactions involving herbivorous insects. Data from the insect bioassays willbe correlated with the LCMS/MS data to identify particular compounds with large effect. RNAseq data will be analyzed to identify genes that upregulated in correlation with LCMS/MS data to identify previously unknown genes that are involved in the withanolide biosynthetic pathway.