Recognition of effector proteins in resistant hosts leads to robust immunity that prevents bacterial infection. In our new PNAS paper, we identified a pseudokinase (ZED1) that is required for the recognition of Pseudomonas syringae type III effector protein HopZ1a. ZED1 interacts with both HopZ1a and ZAR1, the immune receptor that is also necessary for HopZ1a recognition. We hypothesize that ZED1 acts as a decoy to trap HopZ1a into a ZAR1 resistance complex.
University of California, Berkeley | Plant & Microbial Biology