Secreted proteins in oomycete-host interactions.
In plant-pathogen interactions, many of the key proteins from both partners of the interaction are secreted in order to manipulate the other partner.
Zoospore being released from a Phytophthora sporangium emanating from pea root tissue.
Using a root-infecting Phytophthora species with a specificity for attacking pea, a specific method of capturing and sequencing RNA transcripts coding for secreted proteins is, among other methods, such as comparative transcriptomics and genomics, being used to discover interesting proteins in this interaction. Of key interest are the effector molecules secreted by the pathogen, and target proteins in the host. Some of these protein pairs are probably crucial for determining wether a plant species is a host or non-host.
This project is part of a broader research programme aimed at understanding fungal-host interactions in different systems.
Pea plants being infected by Phytophthora zoospores