B09 | Immune-related cell death pathways as targets of fungal virulence strategies
Dr. Isabel Saur
Institute for plant science, University of Cologne
Contact: isabel.saur(at)uni-koeln(dot)de
For more information see: Saur lab
Abstract
This project is funded within the 2nd funding period of the SFB 1403, starting from 2024
Obligate biotrophic phytopathogens such as the barley powdery mildew fungus Blumeria hordei require living host cells for proliferation and the establishment of disease symptoms. Thus, the maintenance of intact living host cells and inhibition of host cell death by pathogen virulence effectors is of utmost importance for biotrophs. In turn, NLR-mediated cell death mediates pathogen resistance by detecting pathogen avirulence effectors. In this project we investigate cell death signalling in cereals and determine host cell death components targeted by pathogen effectors. We also develop strategies to translocate pathogen effectors to the host cells and thereby rely on NLR-mediated cell death as a read out for successful effector translocation to the host cells.
Recent Publications
2025
Bilstein-Schloemer M, Müller MC, Saur IML. Technical Advances Drive the Molecular Understanding of Effectors from Wheat and Barley Powdery Mildew Fungi. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2025 Mar;38(2):213-225. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-12-24-0155-FI. Epub 2025 Apr 23. PMID: 39799551.
Lawson AW, Flores-Ibarra A, Cao Y, An C, Neumann U, Gunkel M, Saur IML, Chai J, Behrmann E, Schulze-Lefert P. The barley MLA13-AVRA13 heterodimer reveals principles for immunoreceptor recognition of RNase-like powdery mildew effectors. EMBO J. 2025 Feb 13. doi: 10.1038/s44318-025-00373-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39948409.
Project B09 Publications 1st Funding Period 2020 - 2023
2023
Crean, E.E., Bilstein-Schloemer, M., Maekawa, T., Schulze-Lefert, P. and Saur, I.M.L. (2023) A dominant-negative avirulence effector of the barley powdery mildew fungus provides mechanistic insight to barley MLA immune receptor activation. J Exp Bot. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erad285
Project related Publications
2016 - 2022
Lu, X.L. §, Kracher, B. §, Saur, I.M.L., Bauer, S., Ellwood, S.R., Wise, R., Yaeno, T., Maekawa, T., and Schulze-Lefert, P.* (2016). Allelic barley MLA immune receptors recognize sequence-unrelated avirulence effectors of the powdery mildew pathogen. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 113, 6486–6495.
Saur, I.M.L., Bauer, S., Kracher, B., Lu, X., Franzeskakis, L., Muller, M.C., Sabelleck, B., Kummel, F., Panstruga, R., Maekawa, T., and Schulze-Lefert P. (2019a). Multiple pairs of allelic MLA immune receptor-powdery mildew AVRA effectors argue for a direct recognition mechanism. Elife 8, e44471.
Saur, I.M.L.*, Bauer, S., Lu, X., and Schulze-Lefert, P.* (2019b). A cell death assay in barley and wheat protoplasts for identification and validation of matching pathogen AVR effector and plant NLR immune receptors. Plant Methods 24; 15:118
Maekawa, T., Kracher, B., Saur, I.M.L., Yoshikawa-Maekawa, M., Kellner, R., Pankin, A., von Korff, M., and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2019). Subfamily-Specific Specialization of RGH1/MLA Immune Receptors in Wild Barley. Mol Plant-Microbe Interact 32, 107–119.
Saur, I.M.L.*, and Hückelhoven, R.* (2021). Recognition and defence of plant-infecting fungal pathogens. J Plant Physiol 256, 153324.
Saur, I.M.L., Panstruga, R., and Schulze-Lefert, P.* (2021). NOD-like receptor-mediated plant immunity: from structure to cell death. Nat Rev Immunol 21, 305–318.
Bauer, S., Yu, D., Lawson, A.W., Saur, I.M.L., Frantzeskakis, L., Kracher, B., Logemann, E., Chai, J., Maekawa, T., and Schulze-Lefert, P. (2021). The leucine-rich repeats in allelic barley MLA immune receptors define specificity towards sequence-unrelated powdery mildew avirulence effectors with a predicted common RNase-like fold. PLoS Pathog 17, e1009223.
Ortiz, D., Chen, J., Outram, M.A., Saur, I.M.L., Upadhyaya, N.M., Mago, R., Ericsson, D.J., Cesari, S., Chen, C., Williams, S.J.*, and Dodds P.N.*. (2022). The stem rust effector protein AvrSr50 escapes Sr50 recognition by a substitution in a single surface-exposed residue. New Phytol 2, 592-606.
Saur, I.M.L.*, Lawson, A.W., and Schulze-Lefert, P.*. (2022) News and Views: Buy one, get two. Nature Plants 2, 100-101.