Biology

Events

Roger Innes Seminar - Guarding the Goods

Date: October 31 2011 4:00pm - 5:00pm Location: J.R. Howard Hall - J.R. Howard Hall - Room 202

Title - Guarding the Goods: Molecular Insights into the Central Alarm System of Plants

 

Synopsis:  My laboratory studies the immune system of plants with a focus on the molecular mechanisms that plants use to detect pathogens  (e.g. bacteria, fungi, oomycetes and viruses).  Unlike humans and other vertebrates, plants lack an adaptive immune system, thus cannot make antibodies and do not have circulating immune cells.  In fact, plant cells are cemented in place by cell walls, thus every cell in a plant needs to be able to detect a huge array of potential pathogens with a very limited number of receptors.  I will present work from my lab that helps explain how plants meet this challenge.