Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jesus Martinez-Cruz, Diego Romero, Jesus Hierrezuelo, Michael Thon, Antonio de Vicente, Alejandro Perez-Garcia
Summary: Fungi suppress plant immunity by releasing chitinases to break down immunogenic chitin oligomers, preventing the activation of chitin-triggered immunity. These effectors, known as effectors with chitinase activity (EWCAs), are widely distributed in pathogenic fungi.
Review
Immunology
Eva-Maria Frickel, Christopher A. Hunter
Summary: Toxoplasma gondii is a valuable experimental system for studying how the immune system deals with intracellular infections, particularly in relation to the cytokine IFN-gamma and the strategies pathogens use to evade antimicrobial responses. Its genetic tractability allows for research on the basis of latency and continues to provide insights into host-pathogen interactions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Fernando Navarrete, Nenad Grujic, Alexandra Stirnberg, Indira Saado, David Aleksza, Michelle Gallei, Hazem Adi, Andre Alcantara, Mamoona Khan, Janos Bindics, Marco Trujillo, Armin Djamei
Summary: Biotrophic plant pathogens secrete effector proteins to manipulate host physiology, with pleiades as a cluster of ten genes that suppress ROS production in infected tissue. This study highlights the functional relevance of effector gene organization and the redundancy and mechanistic diversity in effector functions.
Article
Virology
Marwa K. Ibrahim, Tawfeek H. Abdelhafez, Junko S. Takeuchi, Kosho Wakae, Masaya Sugiyama, Masataka Tsuge, Masahiko Ito, Koichi Watashi, Mohamed El Kassas, Takanobu Kato, Asako Murayama, Tetsuro Suzuki, Kazuaki Chayama, Kunitada Shimotohno, Masamichi Muramatsu, Hussein H. Aly, Takaji Wakita
Summary: The study revealed that MafF promotes host defense against hepatitis B virus infection by suppressing viral replication and is correlated with levels of inflammatory cytokines. This sheds light on potential strategies for understanding HBV pathogenesis and developing anti-HBV therapies.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Ana M. Bocsanczy, Peter Bonants, Jan van der Wolf, Maria Bergsma-Vlami, David J. Norman
Summary: The study aims to investigate the host specificity of four Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum (Rps) strains by identifying candidate Type 3 Effectors (T3Es) associated with specific hosts. The results show that these strains have different host specificities and are of economic importance. This study provides a strategy to reduce the number of candidate host specificity genes in closely related strains with different hosts.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Pengyue Jiang, Jing Wang, Shanli Zhu, Chao Hu, Yu Lin, Weiqing Pan
Summary: This study identified a schistosome miRNA (Sja-miR-71a) that exhibits anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo models. The miRNA was found to target a host gene (FZD4) and suppress cell proliferation and migration of hepatoma cells. These findings suggest that Sja-miR-71a could be a potential therapeutic target in cancer treatment.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tian Wang, Yun Xu, Yang Zhao, Xiaofei Liang, Shuang Liu, Yufang Zhang, Zhensheng Kang, Daipeng Chen, Li Zheng
Summary: In this study, a streamlined screening system was established to identify candidate virulence-related effectors of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (Foc4). It was found that FoSSP17, one of the candidate effectors, can suppress plant cell death and is induced during infection. Additionally, FoSSP17 was found to suppress pattern-triggered immunity in plants by inhibiting ROS accumulation, reducing callose deposition, and suppressing the expression of genes related to the JA and ET pathways.
PHYTOPATHOLOGY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
N. Plaza, I. M. Urrutia, K. Garcia, M. K. Waldor, C. J. Blondel
Summary: Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a leading cause of seafood-borne gastroenteritis, relying on a specialized protein secretion mechanism called T3SS2 to cause disease. A new T3SS2 effector protein VPA1328 was identified in this study, sharing similarity with the VopG effector protein from Vibrio cholerae. These VopG-like proteins, potentially serine/threonine kinases, are widely distributed among marine bacteria, with an undefined role during V. parahaemolyticus infection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marianne S. Jurkowitz, Abul K. Azad, Paula C. Monsma, Tracy L. Keiser, Jean Kanyo, TuKiet T. Lam, Charles E. Bell, Larry S. Schlesinger
Summary: This study found that the YhhN protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can hydrolyze toxic lysophosphatidylcholine, thereby providing a growth advantage for the bacterium in macrophages.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Marco Burger, Joanne Chory
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2020)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Marco Burger, Joanne Chory
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Piyanat Meekrathok, Marco Burger, Arthur T. Porfetye, Sawitree Kumsaoad, Anuwat Aunkham, Ingrid R. Vetter, Wipa Suginta
Summary: The study elucidates the structural basis for the action of GH20 beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase in chitin metabolism by Vibrio campbellii, showing the enzyme's three distinct domains and its active site suitable for chitooligosaccharide. The catalytic mutants confirmed the crucial role of the acidic pair in enzyme activity.
ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Bjorn C. Willige, Mark Zander, Chan Yul Yoo, Amy Phan, Renee M. Garza, Shelly A. Trigg, Yupeng He, Joseph R. Nery, Huaming Chen, Meng Chen, Joseph R. Ecker, Joanne Chory
Summary: The study reveals that PIFs play a role in reshaping the epigenetic landscape of the plant genome in response to changes in light quality, through rapid interaction with H2A.Z and H3K9ac. Additionally, PIFs achieve H2A.Z removal by directly interacting with EIN6 enhancer, a chromatin remodeling complex subunit, suggesting a regulatory module for plants to adjust their growth trajectory in response to environmental cues.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Burger
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Burger
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Burger
Article
Plant Sciences
Marco Burger, Kaori Honda, Yasumitsu Kondoh, Sharon Hong, Nobumoto Watanabe, Hiroyuki Osada, Joanne Chory
Summary: In Arabidopsis thaliana, the Sigma factor B regulator RsbQ-like family consists of three proteins: the strigolactone receptor DWARF14 (AtD14), the karrikin receptor KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (AtKAI2), and the unknown function protein DWARF14-LIKE2 (AtDLK2). Despite similar protein folds, AtD14 and AtKAI2 have different ligand binding pockets that affect their substrate specificity. The crystal structure of AtDLK2 reveals the smallest ligand binding pocket in this protein family, and a compound that inhibits its enzymatic activity has been identified.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Buerger
Article
Plant Sciences
Saori Takei, Yuta Uchiyama, Marco Burger, Taiki Suzuki, Shoma Okabe, Joanne Chory, Yoshiya Seto
Summary: Strigolactones (SLs), originally discovered as germination inducers for root parasitic plants, have been found to be recognized by HYPOSENSITIVE TO LIGHT/KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (HTL/KAI2) receptors. In root parasitic plants, a specific clade of HTL/KAI2 receptors called KAI2 divergent (KAI2d) has evolved, including SL receptors in Striga hermonthica. In addition, two KAI2d receptors, KAI2d3 and KAI2d4, in the obligate root holoparasitic plant Orobanche minor have been identified as SL receptors and shown to be involved in the perception of non-strigolactone-type germination inducers.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Burger
News Item
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marco Burger
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Marcel Quint, Carolin Delker, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, Martin Balcerowicz, Jorge J. Casal, Christian Danve M. Castroverde, Meng Chen, Xuemei Chen, Ive De Smet, Christian Fankhauser, Keara A. Franklin, Karen J. Halliday, Scott Hayes, Danhua Jiang, Jae-Hoon Jung, Eirini Kaiserli, S. Vinod Kumar, Daniel Maag, Eunkyoo Oh, Chung-Mo Park, Steven Penfield, Giorgio Perrella, Salome Prat, Rodrigo S. Reis, Philip A. Wigge, Bjorn C. Willige, Martijn van Zanten
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Developmental Biology
Christophe Gaillochet, Yogev Burko, Matthieu Pierre Platre, Ling Zhang, Jan Simura, Bjoern C. Willige, S. Vinod Kumar, Karin Ljung, Joanne Chory, Wolfgang Busch
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jianyan Huang, Xiaobo Zhao, Marco Burger, Yurong Wang, Joanne Chory
Summary: The study revealed the positive role of ethylene signaling, ERF95, and ERF97 in basal thermotolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana and established the relationship between them. EIN3 physically binds to the promoters of ERF95 and ERF97, enhancing plant response to heat stress. ERF95 and ERF97 function genetically downstream of EIN3 and increase basal thermotolerance by regulating a common set of target genes.