Role of the Phytophthora infestans secreted kinase CRN8 in plant disease

卵菌是一类真菌样真核微生物，包括植物和动物的病原体。植物致病卵菌对许多作物、观赏植物和本地植物造成毁灭性的疾病。最臭名昭著的卵菌病原体是疫霉，特别是爱尔兰马铃薯饥荒病原体疫霉，它继续在英国和世界范围内枯萎马铃薯生产。近年来，在了解P. infestans和其他卵菌的生物学方面取得了无与伦比的进展。现在已经确定，这些病原体分泌一种被称为效应物的蛋白质库，可以调节植物免疫并使其感染。计算分析揭示了卵菌基因组中数百个效应基因。其中一些效应蛋白被认为是由病原体在植物细胞内传递的。在这篇论文中，我们着重研究了一种叫做CRN8的致病菌。我们的目标是功能表征CRN8和CRN8靶向和/或模拟的植物蛋白，以确定这些分子在疾病进展中的作用。该研究将有助于建立病原菌基因与植物生长过程之间的功能联系。反过来，这一知识将提高我们对感染过程的理解，并将为管理由卵菌引起的重要经济植物疾病揭示新的病原体靶点。

Oomycetes are a diverse group of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms that include pathogens of plants and animals. Plant pathogenic oomycetes cause devastating diseases on numerous crop, ornamental, and native plants. The most notorious oomycete pathogens are Phytophthora, particularly the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans, which continues to blight potato production in the UK and worldwide. In recent years, unparalleled progress has been made in understanding the biology of P. infestans and other oomycetes. It is now well established that these pathogens secrete an arsenal of proteins, termed effectors, that modulate plant immunity and enable infection. Computational analyses revealed hundreds of effector genes in oomycete genomes. Some of these effector proteins are thought to be delivered by the pathogen inside plant cells. In this proposal, we focus on one such effector of P. infestans, termed CRN8. We aim to functionally characterize CRN8 and the plant proteins that CRN8 targets and/or mimics, in order to establish the role of these molecules in disease progression. This study will help to establish functional connections between pathogen genes and plant processes. In turn, this knowledge will improve our understanding of the infection process and will reveal new pathogen targets for the management of economically important plant diseases caused by oomycetes.