Freddy Boutrot
Post Doctoral Scientist
Contact details
Email: freddy.boutrot@sainsbury-laboratory.ac.uk
Research interests
Plants respond to the perception of general elicitors or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP) by triggering the innate immune response. Within a few minutes, elicitor recognition results in the activation of several cellular responses, such as elevation of extracellular pH, depolarization of the plasma membrane, increase of cytoplasmic calcium concentration, production of nitric oxide, phosphatidic acid, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of protein kinases such as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and induction of defense gene expression.
I developed a screening assay based on monitoring flg22-induced ROS generation to identify Arabidopsis mutants deficient in the PAMP signalling pathway. This strategy led to the identification of a mutant affected in the ethylene signalling pathway and later revealed that endogenous ethylene controls FLS2 expression transcriptionally through direct binding of the transcription factor EIN3 (and potentially EIL1) to the FLS2 promoter (Boutrot et al., 2010 PNAS).
I also investigated if BAK1, which associates with the brassinosteroid (BR) receptor BRI1 and also with several PAMP receptors, could mediate a tradeoff between the BR and the PAMP-triggered immunity pathways. We recently found that BAK1 is not rate-limiting in these pathways and that BR-mediated growth directly antagonizes innate immune signaling in a BAK1-independent manner (Albrecht, Boutrot et al., 2011 PNAS)
I am currently involved in an ERA-PG program (PRR-CROP) to identify new receptor-like kinases (RLKs) involved PAMP perception in Arabidopsis thaliana and to investigate their function in crops for durable disease control. In addition, I am characterising a novel Arabidopsis RLK that appears to specifically regulate oxidative responses. Together with epistatic analyses, bioassays and kinase assays, I am using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation and in planta coIP to dissect this regulatory pathway and understand the function of this RLK.
Selected Publications
ALBRECHT A.*, BOUTROT F.*, SEGONZAC C., SCHWESSINGER B., GIMENEZ-IBANEZ S., CHINCHILLA D., RATHJEN J.P., de VRIES S.C. and ZIPFEL C. (2011)
Brassinosteroids inhibit pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immune signaling independent of BAK1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109(1):303-308 [Abstract]
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Featured in:
WANG Z.-Y. (2012)
Brassinosteroids modulate plant immunity at multiple levels. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109(1):7-8 [Abstract]
GOUGH N.R. (2012)
Tuning the response to pathogens. Sci. Signal. 5(206):p. ec14 [Abstract]
BOUTROT F., SEGONZAC C., CHANG K.N., QIAO H., ECKER J.R., ZIPFEL C. and RATHJEN J.P. (2010)
Direct transcriptional control of the Arabidopsis immune receptor FLS2 by the ethylene-dependent transcription factors EIN3 and EIL1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107(32):14502-14507 [Abstract]
BOUTROT F., CHANTRET N. and GAUTIER M.F. (2008)
Genome-wide analysis of the rice and Arabidopsis non-specific lipid transfer protein (nsLtp) gene families and identification of wheat nsLtp genes by EST data mining. BMC Genomics 9:86 [Abstract]
BOUTROT F., MEYNARD D., GUIDERDONI E., JOUDRIER P. and GAUTIER M.F. (2007)
The Triticum aestivum non specific lipid transfer protein (TaLtp) gene family: comparative promoter activity of six TaLtp genes in transgenic rice. Planta 225(4):843-862 [Abstract]
BOUTROT F., GUIRAO A., ALARY R., JOUDRIER P. and GAUTIER M.F. (2005)
Wheat non specific lipid transfer protein genes display a complex pattern of expression in developing seeds. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1730(2):114-125 [Abstract]
MONNET F.P., DIERYCK W., BOUTROT F., JOUDRIER P. and GAUTIER M.F. (2001)
Purification, characterisation and cDNA cloning of a type 2 (7 kDa) lipid transfer protein from Triticum durum. Plant Sci. 161(4):747-755 [Abstract]
CUQ B., BOUTROT F., REDL A. and LULLIEN-PELLERIN V. (2000)
Study of the temperature effect on the formation of wheat gluten network: Influence on mechanical properties and protein solubility. J. Agric. Food Chem. 48:2954-2959 [Abstract]
