Publications by authors named "Caitlin A Thireault"

Over the past three decades, researchers have isolated plant mutants that show constitutively activated defence responses in the absence of pathogen infection. These mutants are called autoimmune mutants and are typically dwarf and/or bearing chlorotic/necrotic lesions. Here, from a genetic screen for Arabidopsis genes involved in maintaining a normal leaf microbiota, we identified TIP GROWTH DEFECTIVE 1 (TIP1), which encodes an S-acyltransferase, as a key player in guarding leaves against abnormal microbiota level and composition under high-humidity conditions.

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Over the past three decades, researchers have isolated plant mutants that display constitutively activated defense responses in the absence of pathogen infection. These mutants are called autoimmune mutants and are typically dwarf and/or bearing chlorotic/necrotic lesions. From a genetic screen for genes involved in maintaining a normal leaf microbiota, we identified (), which encodes a S-acyltransferase, as a key player in guarding leaves against abnormal microbiota level and composition under high humidity conditions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Two opposing models exist for how microbes and their host plants evolve together: one suggests a competitive arms race while the other indicates stability with resolved conflicts.
  • Researchers studied two types of mutualistic rhizobia to understand which model applies by examining specific genes crucial for host interactions.
  • Findings showed that the type III effector genes in these rhizobia are highly conserved, contradicting the arms race theory and indicating that mutualistic relationships may be more stable than previously thought.
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Many Gram-negative bacteria use a type III secretion system (T3SS) to establish associations with their hosts. The T3SS is a conduit for direct injection of type-III effector proteins into host cells, where they manipulate the host for the benefit of the infecting bacterium. For plant-associated pathogens, the variations in number and amino acid sequences of type-III effectors, as well as their functional redundancy, make studying type-III effectors challenging.

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