Project description
Effector protein interactions in plants
Fungal plant pathogens pose a threat to crop production by secreting effector proteins that interact with plant immune systems. Although many effector proteins have been identified, their specific functions remain unknown. These proteins may also play a role in manipulating host microbiota and are influenced by the unique microbial communities of different plant species. The ERC-funded FungalSecrets project will investigate 2 000 effector proteins from four pathogens infecting wild relatives of crop plants. It will predict protein structures, identify homology relationships, and explore interactions and co-evolution. Additionally, the project will assess the antimicrobial properties of these effectors and their impact on 400 bacterial strains from the host plants. The findings are expected to boost our understanding of fungal pathogen ecology.
Objective
FungalFungal plant pathogens have a devastating impact on crop production. Decades of research have addressed the molecular interaction of pathogens with plant immune responses and have established effector proteins as key molecules secreted by pathogens to interact with plant receptors. Studies of fungal pathogens have revealed a large diversity of predicted effector proteins expressed during plant colonization, yet the functional relevance of most remains unknown. I hypothesize that fungal pathogens secrete a diverse repertoire of effectors to manipulate host-associated microbiota and facilitate host invasion. As distinct plant species assemble distinct microbial communities, I hypothesize that effector evolution and host specialization of pathogens, in part, is driven by the host-associated microbiota. FungalSecrets, will combine bioinformatics, evolutionary analyses, molecular microbiology approaches and plant infection assays. Our research will focus on 2000 effectors and effector-like proteins produced by four pathogens infecting wild relatives of crop plants. We will predict the protein structures of effectors to identify new homology relationships and to make inference of protein interactions and co-evolution. Next, we will identify antimicrobial properties and determine the effect of each effector protein on the growth of 400 bacteria isolated from the host plants of the pathogens. To overcome challenges of heterologous protein expression we will use different expression systems. To obtain mechanistic insights into microbial interactions, we will conduct detailed analyses of a selected set of candidate effectors with pleiotropic functions in virulence and microbiota manipulation. FungalSecrets is based on innovative hypotheses and will cover a fundamental knowledge gap related to the ecology of fungal pathogens. The research will have implications for applied crop research and will stimulate new research of fungi associated with human and animal microbiota.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-COG
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24118 Kiel
Germany
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