Structural basis of plant immune receptor signaling (2022-2025)

Plants detect invading pathogens and trigger immune responses in a process called ¿effector-triggered immunity¿, in which pathogen effector (avirulence) proteins are recognized by plant resistance proteins, typically so-called ¿plant NLRs¿. Ongoing work in the applicants¿TM) laboratories has shown that oligomerization into ¿resistosomes¿ and NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) cleavage play central roles in the process. Building on these data, the project aims to characterize the structures of the signaling molecules resulting from TIR (Toll/interleukin-1 receptor) domain-mediated NAD+ cleavage and the structural architecture of plant NLR resistosomes. This knowledge will support the long-term objective of protecting crops from pathogens.