Research Projects

Bacterial pathogens significantly impact agricultural productivity, making understanding their strategies to evade detection from the host immune system crucial for improving food security management. Pseudomonas sp has a set of constantly diversifying effector genes that aid in physiological adaptations and suppress immune responses. HopA1 is one such effector, which has been found to enhance pathogen survival fitness through improved biofilm formation, chemotaxis, and attachment to the host surface. However, the underlying mechanisms for these strategies remain unknown. The study aims to decipher molecular insights into HopA1 intelligent acquisition in different P. syringae pathovars, focusing on their immune-evasion strategies. Preliminary bio-informatic analysis and crystal structures of HopA1pss and HopA1pst will determine their virulence degrees and ETI-eliciting potential in planta. With a collection of ~15 HopA1s acquired from diverse P. syringae pathovars, the researchers envision deciphering a correlation between horizontal gene transfer and gain of newer host range in economically important crops. Identification of Arabidopsis proteome enriched with HopA1 revealed enrichment of key translation-associated proteins, suggesting the role of these sentinels in immune-elicitation and pathogen effector attempts to thwart these processes. Novel targets will be characterized for their immune-surveillance roles in planta and the mode of their manipulation by HopA1s. This will highlight the intricacies of post-transcriptional regulation of immunity and identify novel nodes to boost plant defenses through focused biotechnological efforts.