Prof. Isabel Monte is a Junior Professor at the ZMBP, University of Tübingen, where she leads the Evolution of Plant Signaling Lab since 2022. Her lab focuses on two main research lines: the evolution of receptor kinases signaling in land plants and the evolution of molecular plant-microbe interactions (EvoMPMI). The aim is to better understand plant receptor kinase-mediated mechanisms to perceive information from the extracellular space and transduce those signals through intracellular signaling pathways. In 2024 she was awarded an ERC StG (FRIENEMIES) to investigate the molecular mechanisms mediating different interactions between fungi and diverse land plants.
Abstract
“Communication between plants and microbes through receptor kinases: an evolutionary perspective”
Plants possess cell-surface receptors to monitor their environment and react to the presence of microbes. Some of these receptors act as pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) that perceive conserved molecular patterns from microbes and activate pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). Even though not all PRRs are widely conserved across land plants, they all activate a conserved downstream signaling pathway effective against the vast majority of potential pathogens.
Using model plants from different plant lineages, we are investigating the evolution of PRR activation mechanisms and signaling specificity in land plants. We envision that our research will contribute to unlock the potential of PRR transfer between plant species and engineering novel receptor functions. In addition to our work on plant receptor evolution, we are investigating the evolution of the interaction between plants and fungi. We identified the first microbe that establishes opposite interactions with non-seed and flowering plants, and use it as a model to understand the transition between susceptibility, resistance and mutualism in land plants. Our currrent hypotheses propose that the fungus reacts differently depending on the plant lineage and/or that there are fundamental differences in the plant immune system yet to be discovered.
