Research in the group revolves around studying the structure function relationships of plant cell wall proteins. We have isolated cell wall extensin genes from Arabidopsis and Brassica napus, and have shown that they are expressed in response to a variety of biotic and abiotic stimuli including wounding, pathogen attack and mechanical stresses. Using promoter-reporter fusions, we have identified various control elements on these genes, and are now seeking to use them as "molecular switches" to modulate the expression of plant genes expressed in response to pathogen attack. Recently, we have shown that overexpresion of an Arabidopsis extensin gene confers significant resistance to the bacterial virulent pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. A patent has been granted to this discovery and we are currently exploring the resistance of these transgenics to a variety of bacterial and fungal pathogens. Other projects revolve around identifying the plant genes responsible for the plant response to wind stress - due to projected climatic change, it is likely that this will be an increasingly important area of study

Group Members:

                   
Guo Wei is a graduate student  from Harbin, China -  her undergraduate B.Sc degree was in Molecular Biology from Harbin Normal University. She is currently working on an analysis of an Arabidopsis line which was generated by a previous Ph.D. student (Karen Roberts). This line overexpresses the Arabidopsis EXT1 extensin gene under control of the CaMV 35 S promoter. We have already shown  (Publication 11 - Guo Wei and Anil Shirsat 2006)  that the ectopic over-expression of extensin in this line to the virulent Pseudomonas syringae DC 3000 bacterial strain is high -  the resistance compares favourably with that seen an an avirulent  R/Avr interaction which induces normal plant defense responses.  While it has been suspected that cell wall proteins do play an important role in plant defense - this finding is the first proof (to our knowledge!) that such a link does in fact exist. The project is continuing on two fronts - assaynig the resistance of this line to commercially important fungal pathogens and knocking out/ down extensin expression in Arabidopsis using a RNAi  based strategy. Transformation are currently under way to introduce the Extensin RNAi construct into Arabidopsis.

                     
  Rhona Bennett is a graduate student from Glasgow - after her undergraduate B.Sc degree in Biotechnology from the University of Abertay, Dundee, she went on to an M.Sc in Conservation & Utilisation  of Plant genetic resources at the University of Birmingham. She is working on a project  designed to identify plant genes which are involved in the plant response to wind and mechanical stress. using RT-PCr, she has identified a number of candidate genes whose expression changes dramatically when Arabidopsis plants are subjected to wind and mechanical stresses. In order to analyse the roles of these genes in the response and adaptation of plants to wind stress, she is currently using the technique of RNAi  to silence candidate genes - these constructs have all been made and Arabidopsis  transformations are now underway.

Anisa Begum Laghari is a graduate student who has recently joined the group from Hyderabad, Pakistan. her B.Sc and M.Sc. degrees (Agriculture) are from the Sindh Agriculture University in Tandojam, Pakistan. She is currently interested in the role of cell wall proteins in conferring disease resistance in rice.

Media Interviews:

I am frequently called upon to talk about various aspects of plant genetic engineering, stem cell research etc - The most recent (below)  is a live radio interview conducted on BBC Wales  - the discussion centered on whether it was acceptable and ethical to use an animal egg as a carrier for human DNA in order to generate stem cell lines for research purposes. It is quite amusing in parts and tragic in others....

BBC Stem Cells Interview

A little further back is a BBC TV Interview on genetically modified plants:

BBC TV GM Plants Interview.

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS:

1) Shirsat,A.H., Wilford,N.W., Evans,I.M., Gatehouse,L.N., and Croy, R.R.D. (1991) Expression of a Brassica napus extensin gene in the vascular system of transgenic tobacco and rape plants. Plant Molecular Biology 17, p701-709 

2) Shirsat,A.H; Bell,A; Spence,J; and Harris,N. (1996) "The Brassica napus extensin gene is expressed in regions of the plant  subject to tensile stresses" Planta 199, 618-624

3) Shirsat,A; Wieczorek,D and Kozbial,P. (1996) "A gene for Brassica napus extensin is differentially expressed on wounding"  Plant Molecular Biology 30: p1291-1300

4) Katherine A. Elliott, and Anil H Shirsat (1998) "Promoter regions of the extA  extensin gene from Brassica napus  control activation  in response to wounding and tensile stress" Plant Molecular Biology,  37: (4), p. 675-687.

5) Piotr Z. Kozbial, Andrzej Jerzmanowski , Anil H. Shirsat, and Alina Kacperska (1998) "Transient freezing regulates expression of extensin-type genes in winter oilseed rape" -Physiol Plantarum. 103, p264-270

6) Georgios Merkouropoulos, David C. Barnett,   and Anil H. Shirsat (1999). The Arabidopsis  extensin gene  is developmentally  regulated, is induced by wounding, methyl jasmonate, abscisic and salicylic acid, and codes for a protein with unusual motifs.
Planta Vol  208 (2) p212 – 219 

7) Anil H. Shirsat  John A. Gatehouse  and Nigel J. Robinson  (1999) Regulation of gene expression.  Chapter 11. p261 - 285 In "Plant Biochemistry and Molecular biology - 2nd     edition " Eds. P.J. Lea and R.C. Leegood, John Wiley and Sons  - ISBN 0-471-97682-2,

8) Georgios Merkouropoulos and Anil H. Shirsat (2003) The unusual Arabidopsis extensin gene atExt1 is expressed throughout plant development and is induced by a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. Planta Vol 217, (3) p356 - 366.

9) Anil H. Shirsat, Helen E.C. Thomson and Katherine A. Elliott (2003) The Brassica napus extA extensin gene negative regulatory region controls expression in response to mechanical stresses. Plant, Cell and Environment, Vol 26 1647 – 1655 

10)  K. Brown and A.H. Shirsat (2006) Increased extensin levels in Arabidopsis affect inflorescence stem thickening and height’  Journal of Experimental Botany,(2006) Vol 57, No. 3, p 537-545

11) Guo Wei and Anil H. Shirsat. (2006) Extensin over-expression in Arabidopsis limits pathogen invasiveness. Molecular Plant Pathology  Vol 7 (6) 579-592