The effector protein Ten1 of Ustilago maydis

The interaction between Ustilago maydis and its plant host maize is largelygoverned by more than 300 novel, secreted effector proteins among whichTen1 has a major contribution to virulence. We could show that Ten1 issecreted by the fungus during infection. Moreover, ZmPP26, a maize proteinphosphatase 2C was identified as interaction partner of Ten1 via a yeast 2-hybrid screen and Co-IP in planta. Recombinant ZmPP26 showed strong type2C-specific phosphatase activity in vitro. Current work focuses on therecombinant production of Ten1 to test whether and how the interaction of bothproteins alters phosphatase activity of ZmPP26.