Lessons learned from type III effector transgenic plants

The Gram negative bacterial phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae employs a molecular syringe termed the Type III secretion system (TTSS) to deliver an array of Type III secreted effector (TTSE) proteins into plant cells. The major function ascribed to type III effectors of P. syringae is their ability to suppress plant immunity. Because individual pathovars of P. syringae can possess over 30 TTSEs, functional redundancy can provide a hurdle to ascribing functions by TTSE-deletion or -overexpression in such TTSE-rich backgrounds. Approaches to overcome functional redundancy have included the deletion of multiple TTSEs from individual pathovars as well as engineering the plant commensal P. fluorescens strain to express the P. syringae TTSS and deliver P. syringae TTSEs. As we describe here, transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing individual TTSEs have also be used to overcome problems of functional redundancy and provide invaluable insights into TTSE virulence functions.