Abstract - Many plant-associating fungi have a high degree of host specificity. Fungal effector proteins, which modulate plant signaling pathways to promote colonization, are hypothesized to play a role. For beneficial ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, this has not been proven. Within the ECM genus Pisolithus, P. microcarpus and P. tinctorius demonstrate non-overlapping specific host ranges despite sharing families of conserved effectors. During this talk, I will present work that we have been undertaking to understand how amino acid substitution within this effector family controls host colonization, and the plant pathways targeted by these fascinating proteins. I will discuss how this work places host compatible effectors as a main driver of ECM host range with applications in the health and establishment of forests, particularly non-native ranges. 

Biography : Associate Prof. Jonathan Plett did his doctoral work at Queen’s University in Canada followed by a post doctoral research position at L’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE; France).  Jonathan is a faculty member of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University in Australia, a former ARC DECRA fellow and a current ARC Future Fellow.  Jonathan is a pioneer in decoding the signalling exchange between beneficial microbes and their host plants, with a specific focus on how microbes use a variety of proteins, metabolites and miRNA to circumvent plant immune responses.  Outcomes of this research are important for screening new plant lines to find the ‘sweet spot’ in immune response that enables plants to maximise nutritional benefits from mutualistic microbes without compromising disease resistance.  These results will result in more productive tree plantations and agricultural systems.