Identification and characterisation of microbial effectors that interfere with the plant circadian rhythm

植物微生物病原体分泌多种效应蛋白到植物细胞中以干扰植物免疫系统。随后，植物进化出多种能够识别这些效应物的受体，导致病原体和宿主之间的进化军备竞赛。植物生物钟通过调节气孔开度和免疫受体水平，对病原菌的有效免疫应答起着至关重要的作用。因此，生物钟可能是微生物效应物的目标。该项目的目的是确定时钟干扰效应子，阐明其毒性功能的分子机制，并随后将其用于合成生物学方法，以努力设计高性能植物。

Plant microbial pathogens secrete multiple effector proteins into plant cells in order to interfere with the plant immune system. Subsequently, plants have evolved multiple receptors capable to recognise these effectors, leading to an evolutionary arms race between pathogen and host. The plant circadian clock is essential for effective immune responses to pathogens by regulating the stomatal aperture and the levels of immune receptors. Therefore the clock is a likely target for microbial effectors. The aim of this project is to identify clock interfering effectors, elucidate the molecular mechanism of their virulent function and subsequently use them in synthetic biology approaches in an effort to engineer high performing plants.