This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Alejandra I. Huerta is "Characterization and identification of a novel bacterial resistance mechanism that confers complete immunity to a major pathogen of rice." The host institution for this fellowship is Colorado State University, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Jan E. Leach and Lindsay Triplett.
The identification and characterization of new sources of resistance in rice is of particular importance in the context of global food security. Intensified rice production has resulted in higher disease pressures and yield loss due to bacterial disease such as bacterial leaf streak (BLS), caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola, yet no BLS resistance genes have been identified, hampering both an understanding of disease causation and prevention. The fellowship research investigates how the pathogen both triggers and suppresses resistance in an ancient cultivated variety of rice, Carolina Gold, grown in the United States by elucidating mechanisms at the molecular level, i.e., the role of surface-exposed amino acid residues in proteins produced by the pathogen and that interact with the host.
Training goals include gaining mastery of molecular tools in plant biology, bioinformatics including genome mining, and science communication. Educational outreach is through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education Migrant Education Program to develop hands-on, tangible and accessible scientific workshops and outreach activities to engage children from migrant farming communities into STEM.
