| Cucumber is one of the ten most important vegetables in the world and its genome has just recently been sequenced. In the proposed research we will exploit this information to improve cucumber traits involved in indirect plant defense (enhancing biological control) and to identify new genes that are (strongly) induced by spider-mites and thrips, two major pest herbivores in cucumber. In response to herbivory, plants release a complex blend of volatiles providing valuable cues for herbivores and their natural enemies. Previous research demonstrated that biological control of cell-feeding herbivores, such as spider-mites but also thrips, can be improved by changing the HIPV emission either through a GMO approach by introduction of terpene synthase genes or by exploiting the genetic variation in HIPV emission already present in cucumber. In our research, bioinformatics will be combined with metabolic profiling of volatiles and transcript profiling of the genes that encode for their biosynthesis, in various cucumber accessions. Furthermore, we will study the behaviour of various natural enemies of spider mites and thrips. Our integrated approach consisting of bioinformatics, metabolite profiling, transcriptomics and behavioural analyses will lead to the identification of genes and their regulatory sequences that in cucumber are responsible for (induced) indirect defence mechanisms. |
