Connecting plant sensor NLRs to host cell death responses (B08)

• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 414786233

Nucleotide-binding domain/leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors provide a crucial barrier to pathogen infection in mammals and plants. In both systems, NLRs sense microbe-mediated perturbations inside host cells and, via conformational switches, induce cell death and anti-microbial pathways leading to disease resistance. This project integrates protein structure-function studies with in vivo molecular and pathology phenotyping, genetics and cell biology to answer fundamental questions about how plant sensor NLRs activate cell death pathways and whether different NLR types converge on the same or distinct cell death machineries in immunity.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1403: Cell Death in Immunity, Inflammation and Disease
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Jijie Chai, until 3/2023; Professorin Dr. Jane E. Parker; Professor Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert, until 12/2023