Dissecting the journey and functions of barley smut fungus Ustilago hordei immunity-triggering effector UhAvr1 to reveal durable defense strategies in cereals

效应生物学是研究微生物病原体分泌的小蛋白，在人类/动物和植物科学中都是一个新兴的研究领域。对效应器的研究已经揭示了这些蛋白质与许多基本的宿主过程和信号通路相互作用和操纵的方式。效应器的目标是发育、蛋白质降解和基因调控，包括防御和抗性反应。因此，效应器告诉我们病原体是如何致病的，但也可以用作探针来阐明基本的生物过程。

Effector biology, the study of small secreted proteins from microbial pathogens, is a burgeoning research field in both human/animal and plant sciences. Studying effectors has already revealed insight into ways these proteins interact with and manipulate many basic host processes and signaling pathways. Effectors target development, protein degradation and gene regulation which include defense and resistance responses. Therefore, effectors teach us how pathogens cause disease but can also be used as probes to elucidate basic biological processes.