Robatzek Team

Prof. Dr. Silke Robatzek

Plant health is fundamental to sustainable agriculture. It ensures the supply of agricultural produce for human and animal dietary needs. Yet, agricultural production is frequently lost to diseases caused by pathogens. We focus on the regulation of plant-encoded immune receptors and investigate mechanisms by which pathogens can activate and suppress immune signalling. We also address how multi-host pathogens achieve infection across plant species, a fascinating aspect given the genetic diversity of the immune system in the plant kingdom.

Research topics

Cellular and molecular basis of plant immunity of Xylella fastidiosa
The capacity for immunity depends on the repertoire of genetically encoded immune receptors that greatly vary between species. We explore model and crop-plants to genetically identify the components of the plant´s immune system recognizing X. fastidiosa.
Multi-host pathogenicity of Xylella
X. fastidiosa colonizes xylem vessels, dead cells of the vasculature. We use a multi-host approach combined with transcriptomics to identify bacterial signatures associated with the disease.
Cellular and molecular inter-organism exchange
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important bacterial structures, which have been associated with virulence. We research the role of EVs from model and economically important bacterial pathogens in host infection, and in the context of the phyllosphere microbiome.