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Arabidopsis Thaliana-Spider Mite Interaction: Plant Perception, Signalling, And Response, Kristie A. Bruinsma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is a cell-content feeding chelicerate herbivore, feeding on over 1000 plant species, one of which is Arabidopsis thaliana. This research uses microarray data from two A. thaliana accessions that differ in susceptibility to spider mite feeding to identify how the plant defends itself against this herbivore. Mutant analysis of induced plant defense pathways and physiological assays of mite performance indicate that A. thaliana utilizes: a) damage associated molecular pattern receptors, PEPR1 and PEPR2, to aid in perception of attack; b) jasmonic acid as the key phytohormone involved in resistance signalling; and c) …