Fax: +44 131 650 5392

Group Members: Pedro Nurmberg, Byung-Wook Yun, Eleanor Gilroy, Angela Feechan, Jeong-Gu Kang, Cui Hang, Reza Shafiei, Hazel McLellan, Eun Jung Kwon, Yiqin Wang, Alex Schevchenko, Xinli Sun, Joonseon Yoon.

Our research aims to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning plant disease and resistance. Plants are resistant against the majority of pathogens due to a phenomenon termed non-host disease resistance. We are uncovering the genetic architecture of this important defence mechanism in Arabidopsis against wheat powdery mildew and wheat leaf rust (more details). 3-D confocal imaging of the powdery mildew pathogen Blumeria graminis f.sp. triciti.		Exploring the role of nitric oxide in disease resistance The synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) is a conspicuous feature of plants responding to attempted microbial infection and this redox-based regulator underpins the development of plant immunity. S-nitrosylation, the addition of an NO group to a cysteine thiol to form an S-nitrosothiol (SNO) is a key redox-based post-translational modification that regulates multiple modes of plant disease resistance. Identifying the targets of S-nitrosylation and de-nitrosylation, the resulting biological consequences and how this modification is controlled are all significant research themes. H2O2-induced luciferase activity surounding an area of hypersensitive cell death in a gst1::luciferase transgenic Arabidopsis line
Disease resistance against necrotrophic pathogens. We are dissecting the genetic basis of disease resistance and susceptibility in Arabidopsis against the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea (more details). Arabidopsis Col-0 plants infected with B. cinerea.		Functional genomics based gene discovery. Activation T-DNA tagging in Arabidopsis lines containing distinct promoter::luciferase reporter genes has facilitated high throughput gain-of-function genetics (more details). Luciferase activity in the activated disease resistance (adr) 1 mutant which contains a pr1::luciferase transgene.

For more information visit our lab's website.

Selected Publications:

• Wang, Y.-Q., Feechan, A., Yun, B.-W., Shafiei, R., Hofmann, A., Taylor, P., Xue, P., Yang, F.-Q., Xie, Z.-S., Pallas, J.A., Chu, C.-C. and Loake, G.J. (2008). S-nitrosylation of AtSABP3 antagonises the expression of plant immunity. J. Biol. Chem. (In press: available from On-line express).
• Qiu, J.L., Zhou, L., Yun, B.-W., Bj?rn, H., Fiil, B.K., Petersen, K., MacKinlay, J., Loake, G.J., Mundy, J., Morris, P.C. (2008). Arabidopsis MAP Kinase Kinase MKK1 and MKK2 have overlapping functions in defence signalling mediated by MEKK1, MIPK4 and MKS1. Plant Physiology 148, 212-222.
• Ghose, K., Dey, S., Barton, H., Loake, G.J. and Basu, D. (2008). Differential profiling identifies genes implicated in non-host disease resistance in Sinapis alba L. against Alternaria brassicicola. Mol. Plant Pathology 9, 763-775.
• McLeod A.R., Fry, S.C., Loake, G.J., Messenger, D.J., Reay, D.S., Smith, K.A., Yun, B.-W. (2008). Ultraviolet radiation drives methane emissions from terrestrial plant pectins. New Phytol. 180, 124-132.
• Hong, J.-K., Yun, B.W., Kang, J.G., Raja, M.U., Kwon, E.-J., Sorhagen, S., Chu, C., Wang, Y.-Q. and Loake, G.J. (2008). Nitric oxide function and signalling in plant disease resistance. J. Exp. Bot. 59, 147-154.
• Love, A.J., Geri1, C., Laird, J., Yun, B-W., Loake, G.J., Sadanandom, A., Milner, J.J. (2009). Cauliflower mosaic virus P6 protein suppresses SA-dependent defence responses in Arabidopsis. Biol. Plant Microbe Interact. 6, No. 66 (In press).
• Nurmberg, P.L., Yun. B.-W., Knox, K., Morris, P.C., Shafiei, R., Hudson, A. and Loake, G.J. (2007). The developmental selector AS1 is an evolutionary conserved regulator of the plant immune response. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104, 18795-18800.
• Gilroy, E.M., Hein, I., van der Hoorn, R., Boevink, P.C., Venter, E., McLellan, H., Kaffarnik, F., Hrubikova, K., Shaw, J., Holeva, M., López, E.C., Boras-Hidalgo, O., Pritchard, L., Loake, G.J., Lacomme, C. and Birch, PRJ. (2007). Involvement of cathepsin B in the plant disease resistance hypersensitive response. Plant J. 52, 1-13.
• Shafiei, R., Hang, C., Kang, J.G., Loake, G.J (2007). Identification of loci controlling non-host disease resistance in Arabidopsis against the leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina. Molecular Plant Pathology 8, 773-784.
• Grant, M. and Loake, G.J. (2007). Recent advances in salicylic acid signalling. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 10, 466-472.
• Wang, Y., Yun, B-W., Kwon, E., Hong, J.-K., Yoon, J. and Loake, G.J. (2006). S-nitrosylation: a redox based post-translational modification in plants. Journal of Experimental Botany 57, 1777-1784.
• Feechan, A., Kwon, E.-J., Yun, B.-W., Wang, Y., Pallas, J.A. and Loake, G.J. (2005). A Central Role for S-Nitrosothiols in Plant Disease Resistance. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 8054-8059.
• Murray, S.L., Adams, N., Kliebenstein, D.J., Loake, G.J. and Denby, K.J. (2005). A Constitutive PR1::Luciferase Expression Screen Identifies Arabidopsis Mutants with Differential Disease Resistance to Both Biotrophic and Necrotrophic Pathogens. Molecular Plant Pathology 6, 31-41.
• Chini, A. and Loake, G.J. (2005). Motifs specific for the ADR1 NBS-LRR protein family in Arabidopsis are conserved among NBS-LRR sequences from both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants. Planta 221, 597-601.
• Love, A.J., Yun, B.-W., Laval, V., Loake, G.J. and Milner, J.J. (2005). Cauliflower mosaic virus, a compatible pathogen of Arabidopsis, engages three distinct defence signalling pathways and activates rapid systemic generation of reactive oxygen species. Plant Physiology 139, 1-14.
• Chini, A. and Loake, G.J. (2005). Motifs specific for the ADR1 NBS-LRR protein family in Arabidopsis are conserved among NBS-LRR sequences from both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants. Planta 221, 597-601. [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 480 kB]
• Feechan, A., Kwon, E.-J., Yun, B.-W., Wang, Y., Pallas, J.A. and Loake, G.J. (2005). A Central Role for S-Nitrosothiols in Plant Disease Resistance. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 8054-8059. [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 512 kB]
• Love, A.J., Yun, B.-W., Laval, V., Loake, G.J. and Milner, J.J. (2005). Cauliflower mosaic virus, a compatible pathogen of Arabidopsis, engages three distinct defence signalling pathways and activates rapid systemic generation of reactive oxygen species. Plant Physiology (Sep 16 [Epub ahead of print]). [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 488 kB]
• Murray, S.L., Adams, N., Kliebenstein, D.J., Loake, G.J. and Denby, K.J. (2005). A Constitutive PR1::Luciferase Expression Screen Identifies Arabidopsis Mutants with Differential Disease Resistance to Both Biotrophic and Necrotrophic Pathogens. Molecular Plant Pathology 6, 31-41. [Abstract] [download pdf - 300 kB]
• Chini, A., Grant, J.J., Seki, M., Shinozaki, K. and Loake, G.J. (2004). Drought tolerance established by enhanced expression of the CC-NBS-LRR gene, ADR1, requires salicylic acid, EDS1 and ABI1. Plant Journal 38, 810-822. [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 344 kB]
• Faivre-Rampant O., Gilroy, E.M., Hrubikova, K., Hein, I., Millam, S., Loake, G.J., Birch, P., Taylor, M., Lacomme, C. (2004). Potato virus X-induced gene silencing in leaves and tubers of potato. Plant Physiology 134, 1308-1316. [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 528 kB]
• Tani, H., Chen, X., Nurmberg, P., Grant, J.J., SantaMaria, M., Chini, A., Gilroy, E., Birch, P.J.R. and Loake, G.J. (2004). Activation tagging in plants: a tool for gene discovery. Funct Integr Genomics 4, 258-266 [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 336 kB]
• Grant, J. J., Chini, A., Basu, D. and Loake, G. J. (2003) Targeted activation tagging of the Arabidopsis NBS-LRR gene, ADR1, conveys resistance to virulent pathogens. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 16, 669-680 [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 772 kB]
• Yun, B. W., Atkinson, H. A., Gaborit, C., Greenland, A., Read, N. D., Pallas, J. A. and Loake, G. J. (2003) Loss of actin cytoskeletal function and EDS1 activity, in combination, severely compromises non-host resistance in Arabidopsis against wheat powdery mildew. Plant Journal 34, 768-777 [PubMed summary] [download pdf - 332 kB]