The role of roots in the plants’ defense mechnisms against insect pests

We know a lot about the strategies plants use to defend their leaves against herbivorous insects. However, how are the roots involved in plant defenses? A new research group "Root-Herbivore Interactions” led by Matthias Erb wants to take a closer look at the role of roots in the plants’ defense mechnisms against insect pests.

"If you put your head deep in the sand, you may realize how important roots are for plant defenses,” Matthias Erb explains with a smile. For example, underground organs serve as dynamic storage reservoirs for photoassimilates during an aboveground attack, which enable plants to start regrowth later on (see PULS/CE 07/2006). Moreover, toxins may be produced in the roots and transported into the leaves, if necessary. Roots can also be directly attacked by pests and therefore need to defend themselves.

The signaling pathways and processes in plant leaves are already well understood. In contrast, we do not know much about the signaling substances that are transported from the leaves into the roots. How roots defend themselves has also not been very well studied to date. The new research group will try to shed some more light into the darkness of the rhizosphere. Research results may contribute significantly to the understanding of plant-insect interactions. The data obtained may be applicable in agriculture as well, as many crop pests, such as the Western corn rootworm, attack the roots.

Matthias Erb grew up on a small farm in the Swiss Alps and studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH − Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) and the Imperial College in London. He did his Ph.D. at the University of Neuchâtel, studying the interactions between the Western corn rootworm and maize. “Coming from agricultural science, I slowly grew into chemical and molecular ecology and hope that I can close the circle again someday,” he says.

"The MPI for Chemical Ecology provides an ideal environment for my research. I am especially looking forward to working with non-cultivated plants such as wild tobacco and dandelion in addition to my studies on maize and rice. We can learn incredibly much from nature, and wild tobacco is such a fascinating system to study the role of roots in the defense of leaves.” The group is supported by the Departments of Molecular Ecology and Biochemistry, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and the EU Marie Curie Programme. “I wouldn’t be able to realize my research vision in the same way without the support by Ian Baldwin and Jonathan Gershenzon,” says Matthias Erb.