Paulo José P. Teixeira, Ph.D.

Research

Crop diseases caused by pathogens constitute one of the most challenging problems in agriculture, leading to significant economic losses each year. Given the threat of emerging plant disease and the striking growth in human population, crop diseases are a major concern. I am studying how a plant activates an immune response when it is attacked by microbes and how these defense responses are favored in relation to growth and development. Using genetic analyses and high-throughput experiments, including RNA sequencing and ChIP sequencing, our lab aims to determine how the JAZ and TCP families of proteins play a role in plant immunity and disease susceptibility. The goal of this project is to determine how perturbations related to virulence effectors in the JAZ/TCP sub-network may create a more favorable environment for pathogens to spread. An enhanced comprehension of plant immunity and pathogen virulence mechanisms has the potential to improve disease control measures and protect agricultural production.