Juan Carlos De la Concepción

Engineering an Exo70 integrated domain of a barley NLR for improved blast resistance

This study engineers a barley NLR receptor to enhance resistance against rice and wheat blast pathogens by improving its interaction with effector molecules.

Cross-species interactome analysis uncovers a conserved selective autophagy mechanism for protein quality control in plants

The paper identifies a conserved selective autophagy receptor, CESAR, critical for proteostasis under heat stress in plants through cross-species interactome analysis.

Electrostatic changes enabled the diversification of an exocyst subunit via protein complex escape

The paper shows electrostatic changes in the Exo70 subunit led to its dissociation from the exocyst complex, enabling functional divergence in plants.

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.

ATG8ylation of vacuolar membrane protects plants against cell wall damage

This study identifies a vacuolar quality control pathway in plants that uses ATG8ylation to protect vacuolar integrity following cell wall damage.

Metabolic enzymes moonlight as selective autophagy receptors to protect plants against viral-induced cellular damage

This study shows that metabolic enzymes act as autophagy receptors in plants to degrade defense executors during viral infection, revealing autophagy as a tolerance pathway rather than an antiviral defense.