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Concurrent Session

Session: Concurrent Session: Engineering plant-microbe traits

Toward the engineering of plant pattern recognition receptors for durable disease resistance

Thursday, July 17, 2025
11:50 - 12:00  
Location: Confex Hall 1+2

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SZ

    Songyuan Zhang

    Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich
    Zurich, Zurich, SWITZERLAND

    • Author(s)

  • HL

    Hung-Fei Lai

    Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich
    Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • SL

    Songyuan Liu

    Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich
    Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • AC

    Amedeo Caflisch

    Prof. Group Leader
    Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich
    Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • CZ

    Cyril Zipfel

    Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich / The Sainsbury Laboratory
    Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract Text:

In the evolutionary arms race between plants and pathogens, plants employ pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to detect conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). However, successful pathogens often evolve PAMPs that evade recognition, necessitating the development of PRRs with expanded recognition capabilities. To overcome this challenge, we reverse-engineered natural FLAGELLIN SENSING 2 (FLS2) variants with extended recognition specificities towards evading flg22 variants. By identifying minimal gain-of-function residues enabling blind FLS2 variants to recognize evading flg22 variants, we uncovered key design principles to engineer PRRs with broader recognition spectra. Building on these insights, we are leveraging computational protein design to engineer FLS2 with new-to-nature recognition capabilities. Complementing this structure-guided approach, we are developing directed evolution platforms to tailor PRR recognition specificities without requiring solved PRR structures. In the longer term, our objective is to introduce gain-of-function mutations into crops via precise genome editing. Together, our study bridges mechanistic discovery and applied innovation, providing a roadmap to engineer non-GMO crops with broad-spectrum and durable disease resistance.