Dr. Jana Ordon
University of Zurich, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

Breaking Walls, Sensing Threats: Unveiling How Plants Detect Pathogen Attacks

Research Focus: 

Plants are multicellular organisms that, unlike animals, do not possess specialized immune cells. Instead, each individual plant cell has the capacity to mount immune responses. To monitor for pathogen presence, plants employ sophisticated surveillance systems. These systems utilize cell-surface immune receptors that recognize either molecules shared among pathogens – such as flagellin, a building block of bacterial flagella – or endogenous degradation products, which indicate physical damage during pathogen invasion.

Oligogalacturonides (OGs) are released during fungal infections and have been known for decades to induce plant immunity. However, a recent study demonstrated that plants lacking certain candidate OG receptors can still perceive OGs. This suggests that receptors recognizing OGs are still largely unknown.

Jana Ordon's research addresses this knowledge gap. Her primary objective is the identification of specific OG receptor(s) and early immune signaling components initiated by these molecules. To achieve this, she will utilize the characteristic modifications that receptors undergo upon ligand binding to pinpoint cognate OG receptor(s). Additionally, she will test plants lacking candidate receptors for altered OG perception to definitively identify the OG receptor(s).

The identification of these OG receptors is of significant importance. As cell wall degradation is a common feature of plant pathogen interactions, OG receptors are critical targets for breeding plants with broad host resistance. This work contributes to foundational knowledge required for stabilizing future food crop yields under increasing pathogen pressures. 

Background:

Dr. Jana Ordon completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biology at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. She then pursued her Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne focusing on the genetic determinants of bacterial commensals affecting plant immunity.

Following her Ph.D., Dr. Ordon stayed for a short additional time at the Max Planck Institute to finalize her Ph.D. research projects before joining the University of Zurich as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology with a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). She also received several mobility and travel grants during her career.

Her academic distinctions are among others shown by her continuous publication record starting with the publication of the results of her Bachelor thesis in 2017 and the Outstanding Paper Award 2021 from The Plant Journal.

Beyond her research, Dr. Ordon is actively involved in science outreach, for example by co-organizing the "Girls' Day" event at the Max Planck Institute and is also engaged in public discussions on new genome editing techniques like CRISPR/Cas9.