Towards an understanding on how RxLR-effector proteins are translocated from oomycetes into host cells

TY - JOUR

T1 - Towards an understanding on how RxLR-effector proteins are translocated from oomycetes into host cells

AU - Grouffaud, Severine

AU - Whisson, Stephen C.

AU - Birch, Paul R. J.

AU - West, Pieter van

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - The most notorious oomycetes, such as Phytophthora infestans, are pathogens of higher plants, although numerous other species of these fungal-like microorganisms infect algae, crustacea, nematodes, fish and mammals. While there is now ample evidence that oomycetes and fungi deliver effector proteins inside the host cell during infection, like bacteria using the well characterised type III secretion system, the mechanism employed by eukaryotic pathogens remains unclear. In oomycetes this process depends on an N-terminal motif defined by a short conserved amino acid sequence (RxLR) located near the signal peptide of many secreted proteins. This motif resembles the host-cell targeting signal found in virulence proteins from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (RxLxE/D/Q). This review will focus on the recent findings contributing to the understanding of the delivery of oomycete effector molecules into the host cells, with emphasis on how they compare with various models proposed for filamentous fungi and the malaria parasite.

AB - The most notorious oomycetes, such as Phytophthora infestans, are pathogens of higher plants, although numerous other species of these fungal-like microorganisms infect algae, crustacea, nematodes, fish and mammals. While there is now ample evidence that oomycetes and fungi deliver effector proteins inside the host cell during infection, like bacteria using the well characterised type III secretion system, the mechanism employed by eukaryotic pathogens remains unclear. In oomycetes this process depends on an N-terminal motif defined by a short conserved amino acid sequence (RxLR) located near the signal peptide of many secreted proteins. This motif resembles the host-cell targeting signal found in virulence proteins from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (RxLxE/D/Q). This review will focus on the recent findings contributing to the understanding of the delivery of oomycete effector molecules into the host cells, with emphasis on how they compare with various models proposed for filamentous fungi and the malaria parasite.

KW - Effector

KW - Malaria

KW - Oomycete

KW - PEXEL

KW - Phytophthora

KW - Plasmodium

KW - RxLR

U2 - 10.1016/j.fbr.2010.01.002

DO - 10.1016/j.fbr.2010.01.002

M3 - Review article

SN - 1749-4613

VL - 24

SP - 27

EP - 36

JO - Fungal Biology Reviews

JF - Fungal Biology Reviews

IS - 1-2

ER -