GLS Seminar “Pingtao DING (IBL)”
“From Structure to Evolution: Deciphering the Role of an Oxidoreductase in Systemic Acquired Resistance”
Date: Tuesday 05 November 2024
Time: 15:00 – 16:00*
Venue: G2.10|Science Park |Amsterdam
Host: Sebastian Pfeilmeier
Summary:
Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR) represents a crucial aspect of plant innate immunity, offering broad-spectrum, long-lasting defense against a multitude of pathogens. Crucial for enhancing crop resilience and sustainability in agriculture, SAR minimizes reliance on chemical pesticides and contributes to environmental protection. Our study focuses on the role of an oxidoreductase enzyme in the pipecolic acid biosynthesis pathway, a key component of SAR in vascular plants. Through structural analysis, we contrast the specialized substrate specificity of plant-specific SARD4 oxidoreductases with the broader functionality of non-plant orthologs. Our comparative genomics approach uncovers novel genetic markers potentially indicative of plant speciation. Additionally, molecular dynamics used for enzyme-substrate interaction analysis identify essential catalytic sites, opening avenues for molecular engineering aimed at strengthening plant defenses. These insights offer new perspectives on the molecular mechanisms of SAR, with significant implications for advancing plant disease resistance.
My short Bio:
Dr. Pingtao Ding serves as Assistant Professor of Molecular Plant Biology and Head of Systems Biology in Plant Immunity at the Institute Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, Netherlands. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from a joint program between Beijing Normal University and the National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS), Beijing, China. His academic path included a CSC PhD visiting scholarship at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver, Canada, and postdoctoral positions in the UK as a Marie-Curie Research Fellow and BBSRC Future Leader Fellow at the Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL), Norwich.
His research is dedicated to unraveling how plant cells initiate immune responses through transcriptional regulation, particularly focusing on plant intracellular effector-triggered immunity (ETI) at the single-cell and systems levels. Dr. Ding’s work, now supported by an ERC Starting Grant, seeks to provide key insights into plant immunity mechanisms, contributing to advancements in sustainable agriculture.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Science Park, Amsterdam
Science Park 904
Science Park 904, Amsterdam