Final Report Summary - EFFECTOMICS (EFFECTOMICS- elucidating the toolbox of biotrophic pathogens)
Systematic interaction screens among the effector candidates of U. maydis indicate the existence of many effector- effector interactions and Interaction screens between the effector candidates and maize transcription factors revealed novel host-targets involved in meristem maintenance in the plant.
On the technical side, the effectomics approach allowed the establishment of a complete toolbox for the model pathosystem Ustilago bromivora and Brachypodium spec. including a high-quality genome, transcriptomic information, a transformation protocol for both, the smut fungus and the grass. The development of a half-automatized phenotyping and a software integration allows now the prediction of the infection outcome weeks before qualitative smut symptoms develop.
A novel sequencing-based method to identify insertion flanks called ipool-Seq allows now highly efficient negative selection screens in U. maydis and led so far to the identification of 23 novel virulence factors in this fungal system. The development of various reporters in plants including Unfolded protein response reporter will allow also in future many more functional screens to reveal effector functions and to widen our understanding in plant biology. The Effectomics project had a strong impact on the careers of the researcher involved in and more importantly moved the effector research in smut fungi to a new level.