Mauricio P. Contreras

A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome

This study shows how a plant pathogen effector blocks the stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome by stabilizing an intermediate state.

A conserved structural logic underlies sensor-helper NLR communication in the NRC immune receptor network

The paper identifies conserved sensor-helper NLR interfaces in the NRC immune receptor network and validates their role in immune activation through structural and functional studies.

AI-guided discovery of atypical protein assemblies

The paper introduces SNI, a framework to identify atypical protein assemblies, and applies it to NLRs, finding an undecameric assembly in NRC7 orthologs.

The Pik NLR pair accumulates at the plasma membrane as a hetero-oligomeric sensor-helper immune protein complex prior to activation

The paper shows that the rice NLR pair Pik-1 and Pik-2 forms a hetero-oligomeric complex at the plasma membrane in the resting state before effector activation.

An effector from the potato late blight pathogen bridges ENTH-domain protein TOL9a to an activated helper NLR to suppress immunity

This paper identifies an effector from Phytophthora infestans that bridges NbTOL9a to an activated NLR to suppress immunity, revealing a novel structural and functional mechanism.

Helper NLR immune protein NRC3 evolved to evade inhibition by a cyst nematode virulence effector

The paper shows that NRC3 evolved to resist suppression by a nematode effector, revealing a new type of gene-for-gene interaction between pathogens and host immune receptors.

A hierarchical immune receptor network in lettuce reveals contrasting patterns of evolution in sensor and helper NLRs

The paper analyzes NLR evolution in lettuce and related species, finding that sensor NLRs evolve faster than helper NLRs and that sensor diversification is linked to helper dependency.

A disease resistance protein triggers oligomerization of its NLR helper into a hexameric resistosome to mediate innate immunity

This study determines the structure of sensor-activated NbNRC2 using cryo-EM, revealing a hexameric resistosome and highlighting structural changes during NLR activation.