Plant immunity at cell-type-specific resolution

1. Characterization of the effector-triggered immune (ETI) response in plant roots
   
   Effector-triggered immunity is a robust immune response that normally occurs following the recognition of proteins from pathogenic origins by host intracellular receptors. By taking advantage of knowledge from the root developmental field and plant immunology, we are activating ETI across a developmental gradient in 15 different cell types and characterizing how each cell type responds to ETI activation.
   
   

2. Revealing  the differential contribution of individual cell types in preventing pathogen spread
   
   Soil-borne pathogens, such as Ralstonia solanacearum, actively kill root cells to get access to the vasculature and spread throughout their host plant. This poses an interesting conundrum. Indeed, the RRS1-R receptor has been found to recognize the avirulence protein PopP2 from R. solanacearum and activate ETI to limit disease progression. While an RRS1-R-PopP2 interaction leads to cell death in leaves, it remains unknown if a similar outcome arises in roots, where cell death would be beneficial for pathogen spreading.  By expressing RRS1-R in a cell-type-specific manner, we hope to resolve if any single cell type has an outsized role in preventing disease propagation.