Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Tulum I. (Yürütücü), Öz G., Morgil Gerçek H.
TÜBİTAK Projesi, 2019 - 2023
Phytoplasmas are one of the most aggressive phloem-limited pathogens that are obligate parasites of
plants transmitted by sap-feeding insects which also serve as their hosts. They infect more than 1000
plant species including many important crops and are associated with devastating yield losses
worldwide. These unique bacteria underwent massive reductions in genome size reaching one of the
smallest genomes during their evolution from bacterial ancestors. However, phytoplasmas can still
adapt to a complex life cycle that involves two distinct host environment- plants and insect. Furthermore,
phytoplasma infection leads to massive changes on plant morphology associated with a severely
impaired ultrastructure of the host cells. Despite their agricultural importance and unique features,
phytoplasmas remain one of the most poorly characterized plant pathogens mostly due to the lack of a
successful in vitro culture, gene delivery, and mutagenesis systems. It is agriculturally important to
identify factors involved in their pathogenicity and to discover effective measures to control phytoplasma
diseases.
The goal of this project is to discover and utilize new knowledge to devise and develop new, improved
technologies to detect, identify, and classify phytoplasmas that cause economically important plant
diseases.
In this project, we will i) develop a digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) technique to differentiate
diverse phytoplasma species and strain precisely. ii) perform transcriptome analyses to reveal the
expression profiles of pathogenic genes in diverse phytoplasma. iii) apply comparative genomics to
determine the genes shared by divergent phytoplasmas but absent from obligate human and animal
pathogens that are likely important for insect transmission and/or plant pathogenicity. iv) develop a new
fluorescent protein labeling and electron microscope system to visualize the phytoplasma infection
mechanism.
This project will contribute to attempts to develop detection and elimination techniques for global
agricultural restoration. The new knowledge gained, and the technologies devised will advance
fundamental science, strengthen applied research, enhance disease management, and improve
implementation of quarantine regulations not only for Turkey but also worldwide.