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Concurrent Session

Session: Concurrent Session: Engineering plant-microbe traits

The rise of resistance: from natural diversity to rational modifications of immune receptors

Thursday, July 17, 2025
10:30 - 10:50  
Location: Confex Hall 1+2

    Presenting Author(s)

  • KK

    Ksenia Krasileva, PhD (she/her/hers)

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, CA, USA

    • Author(s)

  • KS

    Kyungyong Seong

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, CA, USA

  • WW

    Wei Wei

    Postdoctoral fellow
    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

  • BV

    Brandon Vega

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

  • AD

    Amanda Dee

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

  • GR

    Griselda Ramirez-Bernardino

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

  • RK

    Rakesh Kumar

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

  • LP

    Lorena Parra

    University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California, United States

Plants depend on intracellular immune receptors, primarily nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs), to detect pathogen-derived effectors and trigger defense responses. The Krasileva laboratory investigates the vast natural diversity of NLRs across plant lineages to uncover how receptor variation underpins immune specificity and resilience. Through integrative approaches combining comparative genomics, protein structure modeling, and high-throughput functional screening, we identify conserved NLR features and novel integrated domains that facilitate effector recognition. Focusing on the wheat stem rust resistance gene Sr50, we applied structure-guided rational design to expand its recognition profile. Using AlphaFold2-predicted models and effector docking simulations, we identified key residues within the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and engineered targeted mutations that enable Sr50 to detect previously unrecognized Puccinia graminis effectors. These rationally modified Sr50 variants exhibit broadened resistance when expressed in wheat and Nicotiana systems, offering a blueprint for engineering durable immunity in cereals. This presentation will highlight our strategy for moving from natural NLR diversity to rational modification, using Sr50 as a case study. Our findings demonstrate how combining evolutionary insight with protein engineering can accelerate the development of broad-spectrum disease resistance in crops.