Mecanismos moleculares de Agrobacterium no reconhecimento e ativação de defesa em espécies recalcitrantes.- Como as plantas recalcitrantes evitam a transferência do T-DNA?

Agrobacterium tumefaciens (AT) is widely used to transfer genes into plant systems for functional genomics and genetic engineering purposes. Despite its pervasive use, several important plant species still remain recalcitrant (non-transformable) using this bacteria, a phenomenon which is not well understood. Although studies have provided evidence for the complex interaction of AT with plants, the molecular mechanism of recalcitrance of many plant species and how they effectively avoid T-DNA transfer into their cells is yet to be uncovered.
In this project, we propose to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying AT recognition and defense activation in a recalcitrant plant (HP). This would provide novel strategies for the control of neoplastic diseases and to improve transformation efficiency of recalcitrant crops.