Galls and AlphaFold, a New Ways Forward

This research paper examines the protein structures of secreted molecules, called effectors, from various gall-forming pathogens, including fungi, oomycetes, and plasmodiophorids. By using AlphaFold2, a powerful machine learning tool for predicting protein structures, the researchers identified several key protein folds that are conserved across kingdoms. The analysis revealed species-specific expansions of certain folds, such as ankyrin repeats in gall-forming plasmodiophorids. Furthermore, the study investigated the evolution of SUSS effector families, which share structural similarity but exhibit extreme sequence divergence. The findings highlight the importance of structure-guided approaches in understanding the diversity of pathogen effectors and their role in manipulating host immunity.Source: Structure-guided secretome analysis of gall-forming microbes offers insights into effector diversity and evolutionSoham Mukhopadhyay, Muhammad Asim Javed, Jiaxu Wu, Edel Pérez-Lópezdoi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.03.609900 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.105185.3