A5027549066- Plant Pathogens and Resistance
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Myxozoan Parasites in Aquatic Species
- Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Infectious Diseases and Mycology
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Yeasts and Rust Fungi Studies
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Plant tissue culture and regeneration
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Fungal Biology and Applications
- Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
- Seed and Plant Biochemistry
- Agriculture, Plant Science, Crop Management
University of Aberdeen
2015-2024
Institute of Medical Sciences
2001-2013
University of Edinburgh
2011
Royal Society
2007
Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences
1993-2000
Wageningen University & Research
1994
The genome of Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen that triggered Irish potato famine in nineteenth century, has been sequenced. It remains a devastating pathogen, with late blight destroying crops worth billions dollars each year. Blight is difficult to control, part because it adapts so quickly genetically resistant strains. Comparison two other genomes shows rapid turnover and extensive expansion specific families secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes induced during...
Abstract Background Pythium ultimum is a ubiquitous oomycete plant pathogen responsible for variety of diseases on broad range crop and ornamental species. Results The P. genome (42.8 Mb) encodes 15,290 genes has extensive sequence similarity synteny with related Phytophthora species, including the potato blight infestans . Whole transcriptome sequencing revealed expression 86% genes, detectable differential suites under abiotic stress in presence host. predicted proteome includes large...
Plant pathogenic microbes have the remarkable ability to manipulate biochemical, physiological, and morphological processes in their host plants.These manipulations are achieved through a diverse array of effector molecules that can either promote infection or trigger defense responses. We describe general functional genomics approach aimed at identifying extracellular proteins from plant microorganisms by combining data mining expressed sequence tags (ESTs) with virus-based high-throughput...
Phytophthora infestans, the agent of potato and tomato late blight disease, produces a 10-kD extracellular protein, INF1 elicitin. induces hypersensitive response in restricted number plants, particularly those genus Nicotiana. In virulence assays with different P. infestans isolates, five Nicotiana species displayed resistance responses. all interactions, after inoculation zoospores, penetration an epidermal cell was observed, followed by localized necrosis typical response. To determine...
Most species of the genus Phytophthora produce 10-kDa extracellular protein elicitors, collectively termed elicitins. Elicitins induce hypersensitive response in a restricted number plants, particularly Nicotiana within Solanaceae family. A cDNA encoding INF1, major secreted elicitin infestans, pathogen solanaceous was isolated and characterized. The expression corresponding inf1 gene during disease cycle P. infestans analyzed. shown to be expressed mycelium grown various culture media,...
Oomycetes in the class Saprolegniomycetidae of Eukaryotic kingdom Stramenopila have evolved as severe pathogens amphibians, crustaceans, fish and insects, resulting major losses aquaculture damage to aquatic ecosystems. We sequenced 63 Mb genome fresh water pathogen, Saprolegnia parasitica. Approximately 1/3 assembled exhibits loss heterozygosity, indicating an efficient mechanism for revealing new variation. Comparison S. parasitica with plant pathogenic oomycetes suggests that during...
To overview the gene content of important pathogen Phytophthora infestans, large-scale cDNA and genomic sequencing was performed. A set 75,757 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from P. infestans obtained 20 libraries representing a broad range growth conditions, stress responses, developmental stages. These included infestans-potato -tomato interactions, which 963 ESTs were identified. complement ESTs, onefold coveragethe genome regions coding potential unigene 18,256 sequences...
Cellulose, the important structural compound of cell walls, provides strength and rigidity to cells numerous organisms. Here, we functionally characterize four cellulose synthase genes (CesA) in oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans, causal agent potato (Solanum tuberosum) late blight. Three members this new protein family contain Pleckstrin homology domains form a distinct phylogenetic group most closely related synthases cyanobacteria. Expression all is coordinately upregulated...
• A detailed molecular understanding of how oomycete plant pathogens evade disease resistance is essential to inform the deployment durable (R) genes. Map-based cloning, transient expression in planta, pathogen transformation and DNA sequence variation across diverse isolates were used identify characterize PiAVR2 from potato late blight Phytophthora infestans. an RXLR-EER effector that up-regulated during infection, accumulates at site haustoria formation, recognized inside host cells by...
Lasso peptides are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified (RiPPs) that possess a unique "lariat knot" structural motif. Genome mining-targeted discovery of new natural products from microbes obtained extreme environments has led to the identification gene cluster directing biosynthesis lasso peptide, designated as chaxapeptin 1, in genome Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii strain C58 isolated Atacama Desert. Subsequently, 1 was characterized using high-resolution electrospray...
When plant-pathogenic oomycetes infect their hosts, they employ a large arsenal of effector proteins to establish successful infection. Some are secreted and destined be translocated function inside host cells. The largest group from is the RxLR effectors, defined by conserved N-terminal Arg-Xaa-Leu-Arg (RxLR) motif. However, precise role this motif in cell translocation process unclear. Here, detailed biochemical studies AVR3a potato pathogen Phytophthora infestans presented. Mass...
Plant roots generate electrical currents and associated fields as a consequence of electrogenic ion transport at the root surface. Here we demonstrate that attraction swimming zoospores oomycete plant pathogens to is mediated in part by electrotaxis natural root-generated electric fields. The zones accumulation anode- or cathode-seeking adjacent intact wounded surfaces correlated with their vitro electrotactic behavior. Manipulation field was reflected changes pattern zoospore imposed focal...
Summary The heterotrimeric G‐protein pathway is a ubiquitous eukaryotic signalling module that known to regulate growth and differentiation in many plant pathogens. We previously identified Pigpa1 , gene encoding α subunit from the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans. P. infestans belongs class oomycetes, group of organisms which signal transduction processes have not yet been studied at molecular level. To elucidate function PiGPA1‐deficient mutants were obtained by...
SUMMARY Gene silencing, triggered by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), has proved to be a valuable tool for determining and confirming the function of genes in many organisms. For Phytophthora infestans, cause late blight on potato tomato, gene silencing strategies have relied stable transformation followed spontaneous both endogenous transgene. Here we describe first application transient P. delivering vitro synthesized dsRNA into protoplasts trigger silencing. A marker gene, gfp, two infestans...
Much of the pathogenic success Phytophthora infestans, potato and tomato late blight agent, relies on its ability to generate from mycelia large amounts sporangia, which release zoospores that encyst form infection structures. To better understand these stages, Affymetrix GeneChips based 15,650 unigenes were designed used profile life cycle. Approximately half P. infestans genes found exhibit significant differential expression between developmental transitions, with approximately (1)/(10)...
The oomycete potato late blight pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, and the apicomplexan malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum translocate effector proteins inside host cells, presumably to benefit of pathogen or parasite. Many candidate secreted possess a peptide domain with core conserved motif, RxLR, located near N-terminal secretion signal peptide. In Ph. infestans Avr3a, RxLR an additional EER motif are essential for translocation into cells during infection. Avr3a is recognized in...