Lucia Piro

Research area

Among all the vegetables, leafy greens are of highest concern from a microbiological safety perspective, subject of many salmonellosis outbreaks in recent years. The removal of foodborne pathogens is a difficult task, especially when the microbes enter the plant via natural pores or wounds, making difficult to kill foodborne pathogens on fresh produce. Despite Salmonella does not extremely compromise plants health, once internalized, its infection fashion resembles the one of the plant pathogens. Stomata, as one of the main entrance of pathogens in plants, are of great interest in this context. Stomata movements are known to be determined by osmotically active molecules, among which, soluble sugars. However, sugars not only can determine stomata opening and closure, but they were discovered playing a signalling role during pathogen infections, in a process known as “sweet immunity”. Pathogens can induce the increase of apoplastic sugars by rupture of the plasma membrane or by inducing sugar transporters to export sucrose to the extracellular space. Abnormal level of sugars in the apoplast are perceived by the plant as a signal of infection and it triggers the cellular internalization of sugars in order to starve the pathogens and stop their proliferation.

The main aim of my PhD project is understanding the relationship between PTI (Pattern Triggered Immunity) response and guard cell sugar metabolism in Lactuca sativa to reduce Salmonella enterica internalization and proliferation.