Project Details
Projekt
Micro-evolutionary changes in barley pathogen – the role of host microbiota in fungal adaptation
Subject Area
Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 520490591
Molecular plant pathology research has provided detailed insights into the mechanisms whereby fungal pathogens invade host tissues. A focus has been on effector proteins which have been described to play a fundamental role in the suppression of host defenses. More recently, new functions of effector proteins have however been discovered. A small number of pathogen effectors were shown to play a crucial role in interaction with other microbes. This discovery has pointed to a new aspect of pathogenicity, namely the antagonistic interaction of microbes in plant tissues. A central objective of the MadFungi research unit is to uncover fungal adaptation to plant infection including manipulation of the plant microbiota. A unique aspect of the program is the focus on one plant genotype (the barley cultivar Golden Promise), a defined microbiota (a barley SynCom) and a set of distinct barley-associated fungi. In this sub-project, we will focus on the hemibiotrophic fungus Zymoseptoria passerinii, a close relative of the wheat pathogenic fungus Z. tritici. We will address the impact of fungal invasion in a compatible and in-compatible plant-pathogen interaction using two distinct isolates of Z. passerinii. We will integrate analyses of transcriptome, proteome and metabolome data to determine changes in the macro-molecular and biochemical composition of barley leaves. Moreover, we will characterize the dynamic of endophytic bacteria and fungi during invasion of Z. passerinii. We aim to identify effector proteins which are secreted by Z. passerinii to manipulate microbial growth and will do this using computational prediction of antimicrobial effectors, comparative genomics and transcriptome analyses. Candidate effectors will be expressed in different heterologous systems to determine their relevance in bacterial growth suppression. Ultimately, we aim to integrate functional and descriptive data to infer the relevance of the microbiota in driving micro-evolutionary changes in closely related plant pathogens as they specialize to distinct hosts.
DFG Programme
Research Units
