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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-155 - Distinct attributes of intrinsically disordered regions of secretomes influence host-specific fungal pathogenesis

Monday, July 14, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Microbial infection strategies (pathogens & non-pathogens)

Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in proteins lack stable tertiary structures and facilitate molecular interactions. However, little is known as to how IDRs contribute to interactions between pathogens and hosts during infections. We analyzed 73 fungal secretory proteins (secretomes) of non-pathogens, animal pathogens and plant pathogens. We find that plant pathogen secretomes are enriched for proteins that contain IDRs that aid in plant biomass degradation and evading plant defense, while that of animal pathogens are enriched for biofilm formation and allergic responses. The IDRs of the plant fungal pathogens extracellular non-effector proteins are enriched for weak polyampholytes and electrolytes which facilitate formation of “beads-on-string” like conformations, aiding assembly of diverse enzymes to digest host cell wall. Contrarily, effectors of plant pathogen and animal pathogen secretory proteins that enter host cells are enriched in strong polyampholytes, which facilitate organization of intra-cellular biological matter affecting host gene expression regulation. These intracellular protein features might have coevolved with host proteins to perform similar or mimic them to alter host gene expression, while that of non-effector proteins could be a result of convergent evolution. Taken together, IDRs in fungal secretory proteins have evolved to aid in (i) the establishment of infection in hosts and (ii) the long-term persistence within the host following infection.