Activation of the Detoxification Response

Plants are challenged by toxic chemicals that are either released by man, neighboring plants or pathogenic microbes. Moreover, endogenous reactive molecules accumulate under adverse abiotic conditions or pathogen attack. Inactivation of these compounds is facilitated by an inducible set of detoxifying enzymes and transporter proteins. Members of the TGA family of bZIP transcription factors are important for the activation of many detoxification genes. TGA factors interact with the transcriptional co-activator SCL14.

We aim to obtain further insight into SCL14/TGA-dependent transcriptional control mechanisms in chemically stressed plants and to determine the importance of this pathway for the restriction of disease symptoms.