Phase separation of bacterial effector proteins affecting plants

• Main Author: Nivedita Kumar
• Other Authors: Miao Yansong
• Format: Thesis-Master by Research
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Other; Plant immunity; Structural biology; Biochemistry; Cell biology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/173833
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Plants use Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) as their first line of defence against pathogens, while bacteria employ effector molecules to evade plant immunity. Bacterial effectors exploit intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) to escape immune detection. In contrast, plant resistance gene products, Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat-containing receptors (NLRs), use diverse mechanisms to trigger Effector triggered immunity (ETI) culminating in hypersensitive response (HR). Some effectors use liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to escape detection. Through in-depth analysis of twelve effectors from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst) and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), this research investigates their liquid-liquid phase separation traits and interactions with NLRs (RPM1 and RPS2) by quantifying the hypersensitive response. Two effectors, HopAH1 and XopX2, were selected for detailed study due to their unique properties. Key protein domains likely involved in phase separation and effector's function were identified. This research advances insight into effector functionality and immune evasion strategies.