EFFECTOROMICS

The presence of secretion systems by which the so-called ‘effector-proteins’ can be injected into the host’s cytosol to interact with host proteins and modulate molecular pathways is a unique feature of proteobacteria.

We analyze the protein-protein interaction network of effector proteins from (commensal) microbes with the host interactome to understand which processes and disease modules are targeted by this underexplored molecular mechanism. We identify effectors and secretion systems in microbial reference genomes and meta-genome datasets.

Research

• ERANET funding - HDHL INTIMIC “Interrelation of the Intestinal Microbiome, Diet and Health”: The role of diet-dependent human microbiome encoded T3SS-dependent effectors in modulating health - DIME
• Exploiting breakdown in nonhost effector-target interactions to boost host disease resistance. McLellan et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2022. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2114064119
• Convergent targeting of a common host protein-network by pathogen effectors from three kingdoms of life. Weßling et al. Cell Host & Microbe. 2014. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2014.08.004

• Osborne R, Rehneke L, Lehmann S, Roberts J, Altmann M, Altmann S, Zhang Y, Köpff E, Dominguez-Ferreras A, Okechukwu E, Sergaki C, Rich-Griffin C, Ntoukakis V, Eichmann R, Shan W, Falter-Braun P, Schäfer P. Symbiont-host interactome mapping reveals effector-targeted modulation of hormone networks and activation of growth promotion. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 10;14(1):4065. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39885-5. PMID: 37429856; PMCID: PMC10333260.
• Young V, Dohai B, Hitch TCA, Hyden P, Weller B, van Heusden NS, Saha D, Macgregor JF, Maseko SB, Chung-Wen Lin, Boujeant M, Choteau SA, Ober F, Schwehn P, Rothballer S, Altmann M, Altmann S, Strobel A, Rothballer M, Tofaute M, Heinig M, Clavel T, Twizere JC, Vincentelli R, Boes M, Krappmann D, Falter C, Rattei T, Brun C, Zanzoni A, Falter-Braun P. A gut meta-interactome map reveals modulation of human immunity by microbiome effectors. bioRxiv 2023.09.25.559292; doi: doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.25.559292