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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NCScience Advances

A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome

  • Benjamin A. Seager1,2
  • Adeline Harant1,2
  • Mauricio P. Contreras1,2
  • Liang‐Yu Hou3,4
  • Chih‐Hang Wu3,4
  • Sophien Kamoun1,2
  • Jogi Madhuprakash5,6,2
6 affiliations
  1. 1The Sainsbury Laboratory;
  2. 2The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
  3. 3Academia Sinica;
  4. 4Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
  5. 5University of Hyderabad
  6. 6Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
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Abstract

Helper NLRs function as central nodes in plant immune networks. Upon activation, they oligomerize into inflammasome-like resistosomes to initiate immune signaling, yet the dynamics of resistosome assembly remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the virulence effector AVRcap1b from the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans suppresses immune activation by directly engaging oligomerization intermediates of the tomato helper NLR SlNRC3. Cryo-EM structures of SlNRC3 in AVRcap1b-bound and unbound states reveal that AVRcap1b bridges multiple protomers, stabilizing a stalled intermediate and preventing formation of a functional resistosome. Leveraging AVRcap1b as a molecular tool, we also capture an additional SlNRC3 resistosome intermediate showing that assembly proceeds in a stepwise manner from dissociated monomers. These findings uncover a previously unrecognized vulnerability in NLR activation and reveal a pathogen strategy that disrupts immune complex assembly. This work advances mechanistic understanding of resistosome formation and uncovers a previously unrecognized facet of pathogen–plant coevolution.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{seager2026plant,
  title = {{A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome}},
  author = {Benjamin A. Seager and Adeline Harant and Mauricio P. Contreras and Liang‐Yu Hou and Chih‐Hang Wu and Sophien Kamoun and Jogi Madhuprakash},
  journal = {Science Advances},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aeb1931},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb1931},
  note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome
AU  - Benjamin A. Seager
AU  - Adeline Harant
AU  - Mauricio P. Contreras
AU  - Liang‐Yu Hou
AU  - Chih‐Hang Wu
AU  - Sophien Kamoun
AU  - Jogi Madhuprakash
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/05
JO  - Science Advances
DO  - 10.1126/sciadv.aeb1931
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb1931
AB  - Helper NLRs function as central nodes in plant immune networks. Upon activation, they oligomerize into inflammasome-like resistosomes to initiate immune signaling, yet the dynamics of resistosome assembly remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the virulence effector AVRcap1b from the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans suppresses immune activation by directly engaging oligomerization intermediates of the tomato helper NLR SlNRC3. Cryo-EM structures of SlNRC3 in AVRcap1b-bound and unbound states reveal that AVRcap1b bridges multiple protomers, stabilizing a stalled intermediate and preventing formation of a functional resistosome. Leveraging AVRcap1b as a molecular tool, we also capture an additional SlNRC3 resistosome intermediate showing that assembly proceeds in a stepwise manner from dissociated monomers. These findings uncover a previously unrecognized vulnerability in NLR activation and reveal a pathogen strategy that disrupts immune complex assembly. This work advances mechanistic understanding of resistosome formation and uncovers a previously unrecognized facet of pathogen–plant coevolution.
SN  - 2375-2548
ER  -