What is the distribution and nature of the Type III effector gene suite in Pseudomonas syringae? And how do Type III effectors target host proteins in order to facilitate infection?

The goal of this theme area is to understand the mechanisms by which phytopathogenic bacteria cause disease on plants. We are using two approaches to study this. First, we are characterizing the suite of Type III effectors from Pseudomonads. We have created a high throughput screen to identify these effectors and will be screening 12 different pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae. Second, we are cloning and characterizing the host targets of previously identified Type III effectors.

This work is currently funded by the Dept. of Energy.