Prof. Dr. Jane E. Parker

We study plant immunity mechanisms. We’re interested in understanding how plants detect an invading (harmful) microbe and transmit this recognition to rapid mobilization of defences which stop pathogen growth. Tight regulation of plant immunity pathways is crucial for combating diseases caused by pathogens as well as accommodating beneficial microbes and responding to other environmental stresses such as drought or nutrient limitation. In recent research we elucidated an enzymatic mode of action for immune-regulatory proteins with Toll-Interkeukin-1 Receptor (TIR) enzymatic domains. Pathogen-activated TIR-domain NLR receptors (called TNLs) and smaller TIR-only proteins catalyze the production of nucleotide-based small molecule signals, some of which induce disease resistance by their precise activation of responder – resistance executor complexes (see image). We’re exploring the immune-potentiating bioactivities of particular TIR-generated nucleotides in dicot (eg. Arabidopsis and tomato) and monocot (eg. barley and rice) species.  

1. Song W, Liu L, Yu D, Bernardy H, Jirschitzka J, Huang S, Jia A, Jemielniak W, Acker J, Laessle H, Wang J, Shen Q, Chen W, Li P, Parker JE, Han Z, Schulze-Lefert P, Chai J (2024) Substrate-induced condensation activates plant TIR domain proteins. Nature 627(8005):847-853. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07183-9.
2. Locci F, Wang J, Parker JE (2023) TIR-domain enzymatic activities at the heart of plant immunity. Curr Opin Plant Biol 74:102373. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102373.
3. Johanndrees O, Baggs EL, Uhlmann C, Locci F, Lassle HL, Melkonian K, Kaufer K, Dongus JA, Nakagami H, Krasileva KV, Parker JE, Lapin D (2023) Variation in plant Toll/Interleukin-1 receptor domain protein dependence on ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1. Plant Physiol 191(1):626-642. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiac480.
4. Huang S, Jia A, Song W, Hessler G, Meng Y, Sun Y, Xu L, Laessle H, Jirschitzka J, Ma S, Xiao Y, Yu D, Hou J, Liu R, Sun H, Liu X, Han Z, Chang J, Parker JE, Chai J (2022) Identification and receptor mechanism of TIR-catalyzed small molecules in plant immunity. Science 377(6605):eabq3297. doi: 10.1126/science.abq3297.
5. Jia A, Huang S, Song W, Wang J, Meng Y, Sun Y, Xu L, Laessle H, Jirschitzka J, Hou J, Zhang T, Yu W, Hessler G, Li E, Ma S, Yu D, Gebauer J, Baumann U, Liu X, Han Z, Chang J, Parker JE, Chai J (2022) TIR-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation reactions produce signaling molecules for plant immunity. Science 377(6605):eabq8180. doi: 10.1126/science.abq8180.
6. Lapin D, Johanndrees O, Wu Z, Li X, Parker JE (2022) Molecular innovations in plant TIR-based immunity signaling. Plant Cell. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koac035.
7. Mahdi LK, Miyauchi S, Uhlmann C, Garrido-Oter R, Langen G, Wawra S, Niu Y, Guan R, Robertson-Albertyn S, Bulgarelli D, Parker JE, Zuccaro A (2021) The fungal root endophyte Serendipita vermifera displays inter-kingdom synergistic beneficial effects with the microbiota in Arabidopsis thaliana and barley. ISME J. doi: 10.1038/s41396-021-01138-y.
8. Pruitt RN, Locci F, Wanke F, Zhang L, Saile SC, Joe A, Karelina D, Hua C, Frohlich K, Wan WL, Hu M, Rao S, Stolze SC, Harzen A, Gust AA, Harter K, Joosten M, Thomma B, Zhou JM, Dangl JL, Weigel D, Nakagami H, Oecking C, Kasmi FE, Parker JE, Nurnberger T (2021) The EDS1-PAD4-ADR1 node mediates Arabidopsis pattern-triggered immunity. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03829-0.
9. Sun X, Lapin D, Feehan JM, Stolze SC, Kramer K, Dongus JA, Rzemieniewski J, Blanvillain-Baufume S, Harzen A, Bautor J, Derbyshire P, Menke FLH, Finkemeier I, Nakagami H, Jones JDG, Parker JE (2021) Pathogen effector recognition-dependent association of NRG1 with EDS1 and SAG101 in TNL receptor immunity. Nat Commun 12(1):3335. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23614-x.
10. Ma S, Lapin D, Liu L, Sun Y, Song W, Zhang X, Logemann E, Yu D, Wang J, Jirschitzka J, Han Z, Schulze-Lefert P, Parker JE, Chai J (2020) Direct pathogen-induced assembly of an NLR immune receptor complex to form a holoenzyme. Science 370(6521). doi: 10.1126/science.abe3069.