Soledad Sacristán

TL;DR: A group of papers analyzes pathogen genomes to find the roots of virulence, opportunism, and life-style determinants in plant pathogens, suggesting that most effectors represent species-specific adaptations.

TL;DR: It is shown that C. tofieldiae is an endemic endophyte in natural Arabidopsis thaliana populations in central Spain and that the host’s phosphate starvation response (PSR) system controls Ct root colonization and is needed for plant growth promotion (PGP).

TL;DR: This work identifies AVRa10 and AVRk1 of barley powdery mildew fungus, and shows that they induce both cell death and inaccessibility when transiently expressed in Mla10 and Mlk1 barley (Hordeum vulgare) varieties, respectively.

TL;DR: Evidence from viruses and cellular pathogens, mostly fungi and oomycetes, which differ widely in genomic complexity and in parasitism is compared to establish the generality of hypotheses on pathogenicity and virulence evolution.

TL;DR: Genetic signatures indicative of an evolutionary transition from pathogenic to beneficial lifestyles are identified, including a narrowed repertoire of secreted effector proteins, expanded families of chitin-binding and secondary metabolism-related proteins, and limited activation of pathogenicity-related genes in planta.