Cell death signalling peptides in maize immunity – Molecular mechanisms of signal generation, transduction and perception (B02)

• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 414786233

Regulated cell death (RCD) plays a major role in determining the outcome of plant-microbe interactions. Initiation and execution of RCD often involves proteolytic activity, however little is known about the signals that activate plant cell death proteases, the cleavage or processing of their substrates during RCD, the immune signals released by dying cells, the response by surrounding cells, and the contribution of proteases to the specificity and execution of different plant cell death pathways. This project aims to gain mechanistic insight into the functions of newly identified RCD components as well as the role of cysteine proteases and the signalling peptides release during RCD in plant-pathogen interactions.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1403: Cell Death in Immunity, Inflammation and Disease
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Gunther Döhlemann; Professor Dr. Pitter Huesgen, until 12/2023; Dr. Johana Misas Villamil, since 1/2024