Pest killing plants: Unravelling a programmed cell death response lethal to insect eggs

Pests and pathogens are responsible on average for about a third of yearly crop losses. Identification of resistance genes (R) genes in crops has been successful only for pathogens and partly for phloem-feeding insects as aphids, whiteflies and planthoppers. However resistance mechanisms against caterpillars (butterflies and moths) are still unknown. An alternative may be preventing the caterpillar attack by investigating plant defence mechanisms that target the insect egg-laying phase. Eggs of Pieris brassicae and rapae (Large and Small cabbage butterflies) have been reported inducing a cell death in different brassicaceous plant species, including Brassica crops. This lesion resembles the hypersensitive response (HR) usually triggered by pathogens and determines egg mortality through egg desiccation and dropping off. This project aims at unravelling the genetic and molecular mechanisms of the HR-like cell death induced by Pieris spp. eggs in Brassica spp. This research will result in improved knowledge on how to exploit egg-targeting plant defences as first line of resistance against lepidopteran insects.