In order to obtain specific and sustainable solutions for crop protection, we need a better understanding of the molecular interactions between plants and phytopathogens. Intracellular organelles such as chloroplasts and mitochondria play a pivotal role in plant immune responses. Our team aims to identify pathogen-secreted effector proteins that target the plant host organelles.

Due to their tight integration into the cell’s metabolic and signaling networks, organelles are in a prime position to communicate stress signals and coordinate optimal adaptive responses. However, we lack a profound understanding of how these organelles communicate stress signals with each other. In our lab we study a novel mechanism of communication between organelles, more specifically, by their direct physical association, through the identification of stress-induced contact sites with the use of state-of-the-art live-cell imaging and proteomics methods.