Gunther Döhlemann
Dr. Gunther Döhlemann
MPI für terrestrische Mikrobiologie
Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10
D-35043 Marburg / Germany
Phone: +49 6421 178602
Fax: +49 6421 178599
Email: doehlemann@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
Research group members
Group leader: Dr. Gunther Döhlemann
PhD students: Christoph Hemetsberger, Christian Herrberger, Alexander Hof, Karina van der Linde, André Müller, Amey Redkar, Lena Schilling
MSc student: Sebastian Ziemann
BSc student: Bastian Kemmerich
Technical assistant: Daniela Aßmann
Dr. Gunther Döhlemann
Curriculum Vitae
Gunther Döhlemann (born 1978)
Diplom (Biology), University of Kaiserslautern, 2003
Dr. rer. nat. (Phytopathology), University of Kaiserslautern, 2006
Post Doc, MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 2006-2008
EMBO STF at Stanford University (Walbot Lab), 03-06/2009
Group leader, MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 01/2009-05/2011
Research Group Leader, MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, since 06/2011
Research area: Compatibility in biotrophic interactions
The basidiomycete fungi Ustilago maydis and Ustilago hordeiparasitize their respective host plants maize and barley to cause smut disease. The pathogens establish biotrophic interactions, in which infected plant cells stay alive throughout the entire disease cycle. While U. hordei infections are systemic and symptoms are only produced in the inflorescences, plant tumors induced by U. maydis can appear at basically all aerial parts of the maize plant. In U. maydis infected maize plants, the metabolism is reprogrammed and carbohydrate fluxes are redirected towards the infected tissue in which massive proliferation of fungal hyphae occurs. Our research is focused on the mechanisms of biotrophic pathogens to accommodate in the host tissue. Specifically, we are investigating i) how fungal effector proteins suppress host immunity and ii) which host factors are required to establish compatibility.
Learn more about biotrophic interactions
Recent publications
Hemetsberger C, Herrberger C, Zechmann B, Hillmer M, Doehlemann G. (2012). The Ustilago maydis effector Pep1 suppresses plant immunity by inhibition of host peroxidase activity. PloS Pathogens [in press]
van der Linde K, Hemetsberger C, Kastner C, Kaschani F, van der Hoorn RAL, Kumlehn J, Doehlemann G. (2012) A maize cystatin suppresses host immunity by inhibiting apoplastic cysteine proteases. Plant Cell [in press]
Doehlemann G, Reissmann S, Aßmann D, Fleckenstein M, Kahmann R. (2011)
Two linked genes encoding a secreted effector and a membrane protein are essential for Ustilago maydis induced tumor formation. Molecular Microbiology 81: 751-766
Van der Linde K, Kastner C, Kumlehn J, Kahmann R, Doehlemann G. (2011)
Systemic virus induced gene silencing allows functional characterization of maize genes during the biotrophic interaction with Ustilago maydis. New Phytologist 189: 471-483
Skibbe D*, Doehlemann G*, Fernandes J, Walbot V. (2010)
Maize tumors caused by Ustilago maydis require organ-specific genes in host and pathogen. Science 328: 89-92. *contributed equally