Tip of the iceberg? Three novel TOPLESS-interacting effectors of the gall-inducing fungus Ustilago maydis.

Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic pathogen causing smut disease in maize. It secretes a cocktail of effector proteins, which target different host proteins during its biotrophic stages in the host plant. One such class of proteins we identified previously is TOPLESS (TPL) and TOPLESS-RELATED (TPR) transcriptional corepressors.

Manipulation of Auxin Signaling by Smut Fungi during Plant Colonization.

A common feature of many plant-colonizing organisms is the exploitation of plant signaling and developmental pathways to successfully establish and proliferate in their hosts. Auxins are central plant growth hormones, and their signaling is heavily interlinked with plant development and immunity responses. Smuts, as one of the largest groups in basidiomycetes, are biotrophic specialists that successfully manipulate their host plants and cause fascinating phenotypes in so far largely enigmatic ways.

Tetracycline-controlled (TetON) gene expression system for the smut fungus .

is a biotrophic phytopathogenic fungus that causes corn smut disease. As a well-established model system, is genetically fully accessible with large omics datasets available and subject to various biological questions ranging from DNA-repair, RNA-transport, and protein secretion to disease biology. For many genetic approaches, tight control of transgene regulation is important.