The conserved AvrE family of bacterial effectors: functions and targets during pathogenesis.

Cyril Zipfel, Sheng Yang He, Laura Herold, Sera Choi

Journal: Trends in microbiology 2025;33(2):184-193

PMID: 39278787

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Abstract

The AvrE family of type III secreted effectors are highly conserved among many agriculturally important phytopathogenic bacteria. Despite their critical roles in the pathogenesis of phytopathogenic bacteria, the molecular functions and virulence mechanisms of these effectors have been largely unknown. However, recent studies have identified host-interacting proteins and demonstrated that AvrE family effectors can form water-permeable channels in the plant plasma membrane (PM) to create a hydrated and nutrient-rich extracellular space (apoplast) required for disease establishment. Here, we summarize these recent discoveries and highlight open questions related to AvrE-targeted host proteins.

Address: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.; Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2024.08.007

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MeSH Terms: Bacterial Proteins, Plant Diseases, Virulence, Plants, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Bacteria, Cell Membrane, Virulence Factors, Type III Secretion Systems