Conceptualising host-pathogen conflicts in the Rubik cube

Research in the area of plant-pathogen interaction highlights the important role of post-translational modifications – the chemical changes proteins undergo after protein synthesis – in influencing the host immune system response to an attack by pathogen proteins.

During host-pathogen conflict, specific proteins from each party exhibit dynamic changes in their functional architecture. These changes are transient but so powerful that they can either launch a robust defence response by the host or completely neutralise this response. Understanding how the functional architecture of pathogen and host proteins can change is therefore important in conceptualising this co-evolutionary ‘arms race’.

A recent review led by Plant & Food Research scientist, Dr Jibran Tahir, has suggested that post-translational modifications in pathogen and target host proteins, could be thought of as molecular pivots in a 3D combinatorial game model (think Rubiks cube) where they not only help to  balance competition between the two organisms but also drive co-evolution of the host-pathogen system.

This advocates a change in breeding strategies for crops and horticultural plants to “post-translational modification-based resistance breeding” away from “resistant-gene stacking”. It also creates the opportunity to develop models that could predict the evolution of virulence driven by a pathogen against a specific host.

Journal Reference:Tahir, J, Rashid, M, Afzal, A 2019 Post-translational modifications in effectors and plant proteins involved in host-pathogen conflicts. Plant Pathology 68 (4) https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12983