News
Leibniz-prize
Ulla Bonas at the University Halle-Wittenberg will receive the 2011 Leibniz-prize from the German science foundation (DFG). The prize recognizes the exciting work of her lab on the interaction between the plant pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and its host plants pepper and tomato. A major focus over the last 20 years in her laboratory was the effector protein AvrBs3 from Xanthomonas which turned out to be injected into plant cells via the type III secertion system. After import into the plant cell’s nucleus AvrBs3 binds to promoters of target genes thus manipulating plant gene expression. In sensitive plants, the developmental program is altered leading to cell enlargement and pustules on the leaf surface. By contrast, in resistant pepper plants, AvrBs3 activates a suicide gene which results in plant cell death and the arrest of bacterial multiplication. In a series of seminal papers the biochemical function of AvrBs3 has been elucidated. The findings have not only provided new insights into the mechanism of host-pathogen interactions but also opened new avenues for biotechnology.