B. Oekmen

The fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis targets the maize corepressor TPL2 to modulate host transcription for tumorigenesis

This study identifies Tip6, an effector protein from Ustilago maydis, which interacts with ZmTPL2 to disrupt host transcriptional regulation and promote tumorigenesis.

A conserved extracellular ribonuclease with broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity enables smut fungi to compete with host-associated bacteria

This study identifies Ribo1, a secreted ribonuclease in smut fungi, which exhibits broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity against bacteria, yeast, and plants, enabling fungal competition with host-associated bacteria during epiphytic growth.

A conserved enzyme of smut fungi facilitates cell-to-cell movement in the plant bundle sheath

The paper identifies Erc1 as a conserved enzyme in smut fungi that enables cell-to-cell movement in plant bundle sheath cells, contributing to virulence across different host species.

High nucleotide substitution rates associated with retrotransposon proliferation drive dynamic secretome evolution in smut pathogens

This study shows that retrotransposon proliferation in Ustilago hordei drives high nucleotide substitution rates, particularly affecting secretome gene evolution.

The Ustilago hordei-barley interaction is a versatile system to characterize fungal effectors

This study presents Ustilago hordei as a model system for characterizing fungal effectors using genetic tools and microscopy analysis.

Pseudozyma saprotrophic yeasts have retained a large effector arsenal, including functional Pep1 orthologs

The paper shows that Pseudozyma yeasts retain effector proteins, including Pep1 orthologs, which can restore virulence in a Ustilago maydis mutant, suggesting potential plant pathogenic capabilities.