XVI International Botanical Congess

Two molecular approaches have been used to understand the genetic basis of induced resistance: 1) the engineering approach, whereby structural genes responsible for traits thought to be important in resistance are cloned, and 2) the ask the plant approach whereby the transcriptome of attacked and unattacked plants are compared (by differential display or subtractive libraries). Both techniques require an expression system that is ecologically realistic, because induced resistance to herbivores is highly dependent on environmental context. Nicotiana attenuata undergoes a major transcriptional reorganization when it is attacked by herbivores. This talk will emphasize the importance of understanding a plant's natural history to make sense of the complex suite of changes in gene transcription that occur after herbivore attack.