"How is plant development modulated by microbial effectors?"

Abstract :

"Many microbes secrete effector proteins that either remain in the extracellular spaces of host tissues or are translocated directly into plant cells, where they play key roles in plant-microbe interactions, ranging from pathogenicity to symbiosis. While the role of microbial effectors in pathogenicity is well documented, their capacity to reprogram plant development is much less understood.

Using examples from my PhD and postdoctoral research, I will present how nodule organogenesis is hijacked by effectors during the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between soil bacteria of the Bradyrhizobium genus and the tropical legume Aeschynomene evenia. Finally, I will introduce my new research project, which focuses on another developmental pathway, stomatal patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana, that is disrupted by an effector from the broad host-range oomycete Phytophthora palmivora."