A Decade Decoded: Spies and Hackers in the History of TAL Effectors Research

Annual Review of Phytopathology
Alvaro L Pérez-Quintero, Boris Szurek

Abstract

Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) from the genus Xanthomonas are proteins with the remarkable ability to directly bind the promoters of genes in the plant host to induce their expression, which often helps bacterial colonization. Metaphorically, TALEs act as spies that infiltrate the plant disguised as high-ranking civilians (transcription factors) to trick the plant into activating weak points that allow an invasion. Current knowledge of how TALEs operate allows researchers to predict their activity (counterespionage) and exploit their function, engineering them to do our bidding (a Manchurian agent). This has been possible thanks particularly to the discovery of their DNA binding mechanism, which obeys specific amino acid-DNA correspondences (the TALE code). Here, we review the history of how researchers discovered the way these proteins work and what has changed in the ten years since the discovery of the code. Recommended music for reading this review can be found in the Supplemental Material.

References

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Citations

Aug 5, 2020·Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions : MPMI·Andrew C ReadAdam J Bogdanove
Apr 25, 2020·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Attila Becskei
Jul 15, 2020·Science China. Life Sciences·Jiao XueXiuying He
Jan 12, 2021·Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal·Cristina E Alvarez-MartinezChuck S Farah
Jan 23, 2021·Microbial Cell Factories·Michael Dare AsemoloyeLorenzo Pecoraro
Aug 6, 2021·Microbiology Resource Announcements·Mylène RuhNicolas W G Chen
Sep 18, 2021·Nature Communications·Shanzhi WangWenxian Sun
Sep 4, 2021·The New Phytologist·Bradley W TonnessenJan E Leach
Sep 18, 2021·Plant, Cell & Environment·Xiaoli LiuDousheng Wu
Jul 7, 2021·Molecular Plant Pathology·Carlos A Zárate-ChavesBoris Szurek

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Software Mentioned

ATACAN
TALE

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