Professor Jurriaan Ton
School of Biosciences
Professor of Plant Environmental Signalling
+44 114 222 0081
Full contact details
School of Biosciences
C64
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
葫芦影业
S10 2TN
- Profile
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- Professor of Plant Environmental Signalling, School of Biosciences, University of 葫芦影业, UK (2015-present)
- Co-director of the Plant Production and Protection (P3) Centre of excellence for translational agricultural technologies (2014-present)
- ERC Research Fellow (Consolidator grant and Proof-of-Concept), Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of 葫芦影业, UK (2012-2020)
- Lecturer, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of 葫芦影业, UK (2011-2015)
- Principal Investigator and BBSRC Research Fellow, Rothamsted Research Centre of Sustainable Pest and Disease Management, UK (2008-2011)
- Principal Investigator and NWO-VENI Research Fellow, Department of Biology, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2004-2008)
- Postdoctoral researcher, Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Entomology, University of Neuch芒tel, Switzerland (2004)
- Postdoctoral researcher, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Neuch芒tel, Switzerland (2001-2003)
- Postdoctoral researcher, Section Phytopathology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2001)
- PhD in Biology, Section Phytopathology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2001)
- MSc in Biology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (1996)
- Research interests
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Our lab investigates how plants employ their immune system to adapt to environmental stress (Wilkinson et al. 2019). Plants in relatively stress-free environments invest most of their resources in growth and reproduction. If plants live in hostile environments and are attacked by harmful microbes or insects, they activate inducible defence mechanisms. Activation of these defences is often costly, due to allocation of limited resources to defensive compounds, or toxicity of the defence response to the plant鈥檚 own metabolism. Plants are also capable of acquiring a less costly form of resistance, which can be activated after perception of environmental alarm signals that sensitise the plant鈥檚 immune system. This 鈥渄efence priming鈥 results in a faster and/or stronger defence reaction when the plant is attacked at a later stage.
We have a long-standing interest in the mechanisms by which priming-inducing chemicals, such beta-aminobutyric acid (BABA), are perceived in plants and trigger immune priming. This research has led to the discovery of the BABA receptor, which controls broad-spectrum disease resistance and plant growth via separate signalling pathways (Luna et al., 2014, Schwarzenbacher et al. 2020), and a novel structural analogue of BABA, R-beta-homoserine (RBH), which induces resistance in plants with fewer non-target effects on plant growth (Buswell et al. 2018).
The lab also investigates the epi-genetic basis of immune priming, which stems from our earlier discovery that heavily diseased Arabidopsis plants prime the immune systems of their progeny (Luna et al., 2012). Current research aims to gain a better mechanistic understanding about the role of DNA methylation in long-term immune priming, including transgenerational induced resistance (Lopez, Stassen et al., 2016, Stassen et al. 2018, Furci et al. 2019).
A third research component focuses on the function of root exudation chemistry in shaping disease suppressive microbial soil communities (Rolfe et al. 2019). This research examines the role of secondary metabolites in shaping the composition and disease-suppressive activities of root-associated microbial communities (Neal et al., 2012, P茅triacq et al. 2017, Cotton et al. 2019).
Across all these themes, we collaborate with agritech companies, such as ENZA Zaden, to translate our basic research and optimise crop protection through biological, chemical, and epigenetic strategies that boost the plant's own natural defences.
For more detailed information about current research activities in the lab, please visit:
- Publications
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Journal articles
- . Trends in Plant Science.
- . Plant Physiology, 194(4), 1925-1928.
- . iScience, 109299-109299.
- . Science, 381(6665), 1440-1445.
- . Plant Direct, 7(8).
- . Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 75, 102432-102432.
- . Nature Plants, 9(1), 81-95.
- . Frontiers in Plant Science, 13.
- . Frontiers in Plant Science, 13.
- . Plant Methods, 17.
- . Science, 374(6569).
- . New Phytologist.
- . Pest Management Science.
- . Frontiers in Plant Science, 12.
- . Trends in Plant Science.
- . Nature Plants, 6(8), 910-911.
- . Molecular Plant.
- . Journal of Chemical Ecology, 46(3), 344-360.
- . Current Opinion in Microbiology, 49, 73-82.
- . Annual Review of Phytopathology, 57(1), 505-529.
- . The ISME Journal, 13, 1647-1658.
- . BIO-PROTOCOL, 9(10).
- . Plant Cell & Environment.
- . eLife, 8.
- . Scientific Reports, 8(1).
- . Impact, 2018(8), 33-35.
- . Frontiers in Plant Science, 9.
- . Nature Plants, 4(6), 392-392.
- . New Phytologist, 218(3), 1205-1216.
- . New Phytologist, 218(2), 752-761.
- . Nature Plants, 4, 138-147.
- . Food Security, 10(5), 1145-1161.
- . Scientific Reports, 7(1).
- . The Plant Journal, 92(1), 147-162.
- . Crop Protection, 97, 128-134.
- . Food Security, 9(2), 195-210.
- . Plant Journal, 88(3), 361-374.
- . Plant Physiology, 172(3), 1465-1479.
- . Trends in Plant Science.
- . Plant Physiology, 170(4), 2325-2339.
- . PLANT DISEASE, 100(4), 704-710.
- . Nature Communications, 6.
- . Front Plant Sci, 5, 184.
- . Nat Chem Biol, 10(6), 450-456.
- . Front Plant Sci, 5, 304.
- . Plant Cell Environ, 37(4), 813-826.
- . MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, 26(11), 1334-1344.
- . Trends Plant Sci, 18(10), 539-545.
- . Environmental and Experimental Botany, 94, 46-56.
- . Plant Signal Behav, 8(1), e22655.
- . Plant Signal Behav, 7(6), 615-618.
- . PLoS ONE, 7(4).
- . Plant Physiol, 158(2), 844-853.
- Primed plants do not forget. Environmental and Experimental Botany.
- . Journal of Chemical Ecology, 37(1), 40-48.
- . Plant physiology, 157, 317-327.
- . Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 24, 183-193.
- , 34, 1191-1206.
- , 11, 817-827.
- .
- . Planta, 232, 1163-1180.
- . Plant Signaling & Behavior, 4(7), 639-641.
- . Plant Journal, 59(2), 292-302.
- Belowground ABA boosts aboveground production of DIMBOA and primes induction of chlorogenic acid in maize. Plant Signaling and Behavior, 4(7), 636-638.
- , 183, 419-431.
- Natural variation in defence responsiveness amongst Arabidopsis acessions, 74, 801-807.
- , 14, 310-317.
- , 146, 867-874.
- , 54, 81-92.
- , 13, 264-272.
- , 146, 1293-1304.
- DEFENSE PRIMING IN PLANTS.
- . Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 10(4), 331-334.
- , 49, 16-26.
- , 32, 1897-1909.
- , 19, 1062-1071.
- . Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 9, 421-427.
- , 103, 5602-5607.
- , 153, 377-383.
- , 139, 267-274.
- , 17, 987-999.
- . The Plant Journal, 38, 119-130.
- Induced systemic resistance by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Symbiosis, 35, 39-54.
- , 29, 11-21.
- , 15, 27-34.
- . Plant Biol., 4, 224-227.
- . Plant Biol., 4, 535-544.
- . Eur J Plant Pathol, 107, 63-68.
- , 125, 652-661.
- . Eur. J. Plant Pathol., 107, 51-61.
- Cross-talk between plant defence signalling pathways: boost or burden?. AgBiotechNet, 3, ABN-068.
- . Physiol. Mol. Plant Pathol., 57, 123-134.
- Identification of a locus in arabidopsis controlling both the expression of rhizobacteria-mediated induced systemic resistance (ISR) and basal resistance against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, 12, 911-918.
- . Frontiers in Science, 2.
- . Plants People Planet.
- . Trends in Plant Science.
- . TheScienceBreaker, 9(4).
- A single amino acid transporter controls the uptake of priming-inducing beta-amino acids and the associated trade-off between induced resistance and plant growth.. Plant Cell.
- . Essays in Biochemistry.
- . Plant, Cell & Environment.
- . Plant Pathology.
- . Frontiers in Plant Science, 4.
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Chapters
- , Plant Communication from an Ecological Perspective (pp. 43-60). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- In L眉ttge UE, Beyschlag W, B眉del B & Francis D (Ed.), Progress in Botany 71 (pp. 279-306). Springer
- The role of abscisic acid in disease resistance. In Yoshioka K & Shinozaki K (Ed.), Signal Cross Talk in Plant Stress Responses (pp. 1-22). Wiley Blackwell
- The relationship between basal and induced resistance in Arabidopsis. In Bent E & Tuzun S (Ed.), Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance in Plants (pp. 197-224). Springer
- Rhizobacteria-mediated induced systemic resistance (ISR) in Arabidopsis: involvement of jasmonate and ethylene In Bisseling T, Stiekema WJ, Dewitt P & Witt PJGM (Ed.), Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions (pp. 291-296). St. Paul, MN: The International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions.
- Genetic analysis of induced systemic resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana: association between induced and basal resistance In Duffy BK, Rosenberger U & D茅fago G (Ed.), Molecular Approaches to Biological Control (pp. 111-115).
- (pp. 334-370). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- , Induced Resistance for Plant Defense (pp. 232-248). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- , Molecular Aspects of Plant Disease Resistance (pp. 334-370). Wiley-Blackwell
- , Molecular Aspects of Plant Disease Resistance (pp. 334-370). Wiley-Blackwell
- , Chemistry of Crop Protection (pp. 99-109). Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
Conference proceedings papers
- . Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Vol. 32(10S) (pp S1.203-S1.203). Glasgow, Scotland, 14 July 2019 - 18 July 2019.
- . Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Vol. 32(10S) (pp 26-26). Glasgow, Scotland, 14 July 2019 - 18 July 2019.
- . Molecular plant-microbe interactions, Vol. 32(10) (pp S1.32-S1.32). Glasgow, Scotland, 14 July 2019 - 18 July 2019.
- . Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Vol. 32(10) (pp S1.17-S1.17). Glasgow, Scotland, 14 July 2019 - 18 July 2019.
- The impacts of quantitative disease resistance on downy mildew epidemiology in mixed host populations. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, Vol. 32(10) (pp 19-19)
- Long-lasting jasmonic acid induced resistance against a generalist herbivore comes at the cost of enhanced susceptibility to pathogens. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, Vol. 32(10) (pp 142-142)
- Immune signals at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) control broad-spectrum acquired resistance.. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, Vol. 32(10) (pp 119-119)
- . FEBS Open Bio, Vol. 8(Suppl 1) (pp 16-16)
Theses / Dissertations
- Rhizobacteria-mediated induced systemic resistance in Arabidopsis: molecular-genetic basis of induced resistance in relation to basal resistance.
Preprints
- Research group
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Research fellows and postdoctoral workers
- Dr. Roland Schwarzenbacher
- Dr. Mamadou Cissoko
Technicians
- David Pardo
- Peijun Zhang
PhD students
- Adam Parker
- Chi-Nan Tao
- Mustafa Yassin
- Emma Moffat
- Dave Rapley
- Roberta Fabrizi
- Samuel Wilkinson
Alumni
- Dr. Joost Stassen, The Netherlands.
- Dr. Leonardo Furci, Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology. Japan.
- Dr. Alex Williams, University of Manchester, UK.
- Dr. Will Buswell, BPP University, London.
- Dr. Rituhree Jain, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
- Dr. Estrella Luna, University of Birmingham, UK.
- Dr. Pierre P茅triacq, University of Bordeaux, France.
- Dr. Ana Lopez, CNB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
- Dr. Shakoor Ahmad, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan
- Dr. Yuhua Zhang, Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients Corporation, Shanghai, China
- Dr. Marieke van Hulten, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Dr. Sjoerd van der Ent, Koppert Biological Systems, The Netherlands
- Teaching activities
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- APS 135 - Skills for Biologists and level 1 tutorials
- APS 138 - Molecular and Cell Biology
- APS 222 - Level 2 tutorials
- APS 276 - Symbiosis
- APS 216 - Plant, Cell & Environment
- APS 355 - Future Plants
- APS 330 - Level 3 Research Projects
- APS 331 - Level 3 Dissertations
- Research projects by MBiolSci, MRes and PhD students
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Monitoring editor of Plant Physiology (2012-present)
- Collaborators
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Internal:
- Dr. Stephen Rolfe, APS
- Dr. Christian Voigt, APS
- Prof. Julie Scholes, APS
- Prof. Julie Gray, MBB
- Dr. Lisa Smith, APS
- Dr. Stuart Campbell, APS
- Prof. Jonathan Leake, APS
- Dr. Vincent Cunliffe, BMS
- Prof. Duncan Cameron
External:
- Prof. David Baulcombe, University of Cambridge, UK
- Prof. Georg Jander, Cornell University, UK
- Prof. Cathie Martin. JIC, Norwich
- Dr. Mike Roberts, University of Lancaster, UK
- Dr. Oliver Berkowitz, Murdoch University, Australia
- Prof. Vincent Colot, INRA, France
- Dr. Paal Krokene and Dr. Melissa Megeroy, NIBIO, Norway
- Dr. Matthias Erb, Univeristy of Bern, Switzerland
- Dr. Victor Flors, University of Jaume I, Spain
- Prof. Corn茅 Pieterse, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Dr. Karin Posthuma, ENZA Seeds, Enkuizen, The Netherlands
Links