Enzymes and metabolites
Plant-associated microbes secrete enzymes and various types of metabolites to modulate cell structure and function in plants and in other microbes.
These enzymes and metabolites can collectively be referred to as effectors, and understanding their role in plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions is important for a mechanistic understanding of biological control. We employ genetic transformation techniques, functional/comparative genomics and methods in evolutionary biology to study the role of bacterial and fungal cell-wall degrading enzymes, with special emphasis on chitinases, in biocontrol interactions. HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry are used to identify and study metabolites and their role in fungal-bacterial biocontrol interactions and in biofilm formation. We work with several species that are currently used as biocontrol agents such as Trichoderma, Clonostachys, Serratia and Paenibacillus, but also model species such as Neurospora and Aspergillus.
