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24, chemin de Borde Rouge –Auzeville – CS52627
31326 Castanet Tolosan CEDEX - France

Dernière mise à jour : Mai 2018


Laboratory of Plant-Microbe Interactions - LIPM

Laboratory of Plant-Microbe Interactions

Research themes

Pathogen perception : RRS1, a resistance protein with unique features and PopP2, a bacterial effector targeting several plant proteins


RRS1-R, a gene conferring broad spectrum resistance to Rs, the causal agent of bacterial wilt, encodes a novel R protein combining domains found in plant TIR-NBS-LRR resistance proteins and a WRKY motif characteristic of some plant transcriptional factors. PopP2, a Rs type III effector is the avirulence protein matching RRS1-R. These two key elements have been used to decipher mechanisms underlying pathogen perception. The main goal of our work consists in (i) the identification of other components of the perception complex, (ii) the characterization of host components targeted by PopP2 acetyltransferase activity and (iii) the identification of RRS1-R target genes.

NLR function signaling under biotic and temperature stress

Coordinator: Maud Bernoux

 Plant immune receptors belonging to the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family provide effective protection against pathogens. However, NLR-mediated immunity is often affected at elevated temperature, which is highly concerning in the context of global warming.

Upon pathogen effector recognition, NLRs usually activate immune signalling via their N-terminal domain. Despite the considerable advances in our understanding of NLR biology in the last decade, early steps that connect activated NLRs to downstream immune responses are still unknown and is a real missing link in our understanding of plant NLR biology.

Not all plant NLRs comply with this canonical mode of activation and some have unusual domain architectures. For example, a number of “truncated NLRs” lacking one or more conserved domains play an important role in plant immunity. However, little is known about how these “truncated NLRs” function and signal.

 The goal of this project is to investigate the signaling function of canonical and truncated NLRs under biotic and temperature stresses.

  1. What are the very first steps following canonical NLR activation?
  2. What is the role of truncated NLRs (tNLRs) in plant immunity in response to R. solanacearum?
  3. What is the impact of elevated temperature on NLR function (collaboration R. Berthomé)?

Plant disease: genes involved in plant development and susceptibility

Mutants affected in disease development in response to virulent strains of Rs were identified and correspond to the so-called CLAVATA genes. CLV1, an extracellular Leucine-Rich Repeat (LRR) receptor kinase and CLV2, a LRR protein without a kinase domain, are known to control the balance between meristem cell proliferation and differentiation. Using a combination of genetic, biochemical and cellular approaches, our goal is to analyze the mechanisms underlying the increased tolerance of the clv1 and clv2 mutants.  


Contract ANR-PRCI “Nuclear Activities of DNA-Associated Immune Receptors (RADAR)”, 2015-2019, Coordinator: L. Deslandes, 280 k€ (collaboration with J. E. Parker and K. Niefind).

Contract IDEX-Emergence “Modulation of Chromatin Architecture by bacterial Effectors (MOCA)”, 2016-2018, Coordinator: L. Deslandes, 142 k€.

INRA SPE Department Scientific project –Amorçage “Identification des mécanismes de régulation épigénétique au sein des cellules en interaction avec deux bioagresseurs racinaires (INTACT)”, 2016-2018, Coordinator: Stéphanie JAUBERT-POSSAMAI, 40 k€.

INRA SPE Department Scientific project «Plant responses to multistresses: Study and modelling of plant immune response alteration at moderately high temperature », Coordinator R. Berthomé, 2014 –2015, 30 k€.

Contract ANR-JCJC “Identification of host components involved in a perception complex (PERCEPTome)”, 2010-2014, Coordinator: L. Deslandes, 230 k€.

FRAIB Research contact “Impact of a moderate increase of temperature on plant immune response to Ralstonia solanacearum:study of the calcium signaling pathway ”, Coordinators R. Berthomé/D. Aldon, 2014, 10 k€.


Our local collaborations involve Laurent Noel, LIPM (Xanthomonas/Arabidopsis interaction), Nemo Peeters/Fabienne Vailleau, LIPM (Ralstonia pathogenesis), Jean-Philippe Galaud, LRSV (Calmodulin and plant-pathogen interactions), Laurent Camborde, LRSV (Monitoring of protein-DNA associations) and Alain Jauneau/Cécile Pouzet (Plateforme Toulouse Réseau-Imagerie (TRI)).

At the national level, we are collaborating with H. Keller and B. Favery, ISA Sophia, (Susceptibility responses), Y. Couté/Alexandra Kraut, Plateforme d’analyses protéomiques, Plateforme Edyp-Grenoble (acetylation of host component), Alexandre Berr, IBMP Strasbourg (Epigenetic regulation of immune responses).

At the international level, we collaborate with Jane Parker (Max Planck Institute, Kôln) and Karsten Niefind (University of Köln) (ANR PRCI RADAR), Stefan Knapp (Oxford University), Hirofumi Yoshioka (Nagoya University), Gitta Coaker (UC Davis).