The manipulation of host plant defences by the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans.

Plants, like animals, have a sophisticated immune system that is triggered by surface receptor-mediated recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Successful pathogens suppress these defence responses by the secretion of virulence determinants known as effectors. P. infestans secretes and translocates effectors inside the host cell by means of a conserved motif (RXLR-EER) in the N-terminus of these proteins. Selected RXLR-EER-containing effectors will be screened using yeast-2-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation to identify host defence proteins that they target and manipulate to establish infection. Various biochemical, molecular and cell biological approaches will be used to investigate the roles that host target proteins play in plant defence, and to visualise these protein-protein interactions as they occur during infection.