Investigating fungal pathogen effector localisation within plant cells

Ensuring global food security for the ever-growing world's population is a major concern. Fungal pathogens
destroy a substantial amount of all food crops each year (~15%). Cereal head blight diseases of wheat caused by
various Fusarium fungi are particularly serious (Dean et al., 2012). These pathogens secrete effector
proteins that manipulate the host to promote infection. Some effectors were predicted to enter host organelles using software tools that search for sequence signatures
associated with subcellular targeting. However, these prediction might not be accurate as only for a few fungal
effectors has their subcellular localisation been validated. Robust predictions are required to identify virulence
changes in the pathogen population associated with differences in effector host subcellular localisation.
We will use multiple software tools to perform an in-silico meta-analytic prediction of the secretome of multiple
Fusarium graminearum strains and identify effectors likely to have host subcellular localisation before validating these
predictions in the laboratory using in planta expression and confocal microscopy. Validated localisation data will be
used to improve the accuracy of prediction tools. Then the plant protein targets from some effectors will be
identified by co-immunoprecipitation or proximity labelling followed by mass spectrometry. Plant targets
identification will allow the elucidation of effector function(s). This new knowledge will permit the student and the
advisory team to devise new F. graminearum control strategies.
The project is multidisciplinary with strong mathematical, computational biology and imaging components. The student
will spend the first six months at Rothamsted Research (RRes) undertaking initial research training in
bioinformatics, cloning techniques, bioimaging and specific taught courses. Subsequently, the student will transfer to the
University for a further research training period, before returning to RRes for the remainder of the PhD project. The
University of Bath will be involved and will provide training in genomic approaches and analyses. The advisory team
includes Drs Nutzmann (lead University supervisor) and Brown (2nd University supervisor) and at RRes Drs Darino, Smith
and Urban and Prof. Hammond-Kosack (main supervisor). The student will have access to world class research facilities
and will receive outstanding interdisciplinary training from their advisory team.