De Wit, Pierre J. G. M.

Contact Information
Botany & Microbiology
King Saud University
Ryadh, P.O.Box 2460, Saudi Arabia
Telephone: +31/317483130 Fax Number: +31/317483412 E-mail: pierre.dewit@ksu.edu.sa URL:

 

Personal Information
Date of Birth:   City, State/Province, Country of Birth: Grathem, Netherlands Citizenship(s): Dutch Language(s): Dutch and English

Education
Date Degree Institution Subject 1981 Ph.D. Wageningen University, The Netherlands Plant Pathology 1974 M.Sc. Wageningen University, The Netherlands Biology

Appointments/Affiliations
Dates Title Organization City, State/Province Country 2009-present Professor King Saud University Ryadh Saudi Arabia 1999-2004 Director of Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences Wageningen University, Graduate School of Experimental Plant Sciences Wageningen Netherlands 1992-present Head Laboratory of Phytopathology Wageningen University Wageningen Netherlands 1990-present Full professor of Phytopathology Wageningen University Wageningen Netherlands 1986-1990 Associate professor Wageningen University Wageningen Netherlands 1982-1986 Assistant professor Wageningen University Wageningen Netherlands

Honors/Awards
Date Name Description 2008 Royal Academy Professor Professorship endowed by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 2007 Noel T. Keen Award Award for Excellence in Science provided by American Phytopathology Society 1999 Royal Academy Member Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 1996 Emil Christian Hansen Gold Medal Carlsberg Foundation 1991 Member Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities 1988 Research Prize Wageningen University 1981 Fulbright Fellowship Fulbright Foundation 1975 NWO Fellowship Dutch Science Foundation

Memberships
Dates Organization Position 2008-present Fungal Genetics and Biology Editor 2001-present Plant Biology Member, Faculty 1000 2001-present Max Planck Institut für Terrestrial Microbiology Member, Scientific Advisory Board 1998-present Dutch Science Foundation section Earth and Life Sciences Board Member 1997-1998 Dutch science Foundation section Molecular Genetics Member 1996-2003 Molecular Breeding Member, Editorial Board 1996-1999 Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions Member, Editorial Board 1996-1998 NWO Working Group "Molecular Cell Biology of Plants" Chairman 1995-1999 Plant Biotechnology of Dutch Science Foundation and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs Coordinator for Research 1995-1999 Dutch Science Foundation Chairman, Priority Program Crop Protection 1993-1999 Wageningen University, Graduate School of Experimental Plant Sciences Director 1993-1998 Current Genetics Communicator 1991-2001 Plant Journal Member, Editorial Board 1988-1998 Mogen/Zeneca-Mogen Member, Advisory Board 1986-Present Various EC Research Programs within BAP, BRIDGE, BIOTECH,FP5, FP6, FP7 Madame Curie Training Programmes Coordinator 1986-2002 Max Planck Institut für Zuechtungsforschung Member, Scientific Advisory Board 1986-1988 Monsanto Company, Inc. Member, Advisory Board 1981-present American Association for the Advancement of Science Member 1974-present International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions Member 1974-present Dutch Society of Microbiology Member 1974-present Dutch Society of Chemistry Member 1974-present Dutch Society of Biology Member 1974-present Dutch Society of Genetics Member 1974-present Dutch Society of Biochemistry Member 1974-present Royal Dutch Botanical Society Member 1974-present American Phytopathological Society Member 1974-present International Society of Plant Pathology Member 1972-present Royal Dutch Society of Plant Pathology Member Cell, Nature, Science, Plant Cell, EMBO Journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Reviewer Physiology, Current Genetics, Genomics, Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology Reviewer Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Plant Journal, European Journal of Biochemistry Reviewer FEBS, Planta, Phytopathology Reviewer European Journal of Plant Pathology, Plant Biology, Phytochemistry Reviewer

Research Interests
Field of Expertise & Research Interests: For many years we have used the Cladosporium fulvum-tomato pathosystem as a model to unravel the molecular communication between a fungal pathogen and its host plant. The pathogen is an imperfect fungus that penetrates stomata of tomato leaves and grows biotrophically as an endophyte in the intercellular space. In planta, the fungus secretes many small cysteine-rich peptides of which some (the Avr peptides) mediate Cf-dependent defence responses in tomato plants that carry the matching Cf resistance genes. The Cf resistance genes are very effective against C. fulvum and have been introgressed from wild relatives by breeders in commercially grown tomato cultivars since the 1930s. We have cloned four Avr genes (Avr2, Avr4, Avr4E and Avr9) that mediate Cf-dependent resistance in plants carrying Cf-2, Cf-4, Hcr9-4E, and Cf-9, respectively. In addition, we have cloned four Ecp (for extracellular proteins) genes (Ecp1, Ecp2, Ecp4 and Ecp5). The Ecps can also mediate Cf-Ecp-dependent resistance in tomato plants carrying the matching genes. However, the Cf-Ecp genes have not been cloned yet. The co-evolution between C. fulvum and tomato is poorly understood, but it is believed that the Avr and Ecp genes have played, and still play, an important role in this process. It is anticipated that the Avr and Ecp genes play a role in virulence of the pathogen and that during co-evolution tomato has acquired resistance genes that mediate recognition of the Avrs and Ecps, subsequently followed by active defence responses including the hypersensitive response (HR). In our research programme we focus on (i) the cloning, regulation and functional analysis of Avr and Ecp genes and (ii) the identification of tomato genes that play a role in signal perception and signal transduction leading to compatible (plant is susceptible) or incompatible interactions (plant is resistant).

 

Publications:

   

1. de Wit, PJGM; Mehrabi, R; van den Burg, HA; Stergiopoulos, I. "Fungal effector proteins: past, present and future." MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 10: 735, 2009..

2. Mehrabi, R; Ben M'Barek, S; van der Lee, TAJ; Waalwijk, C; de Wit, PJGM; Kema, GHJ. "G alpha and G beta Proteins Regulate the Cyclic AMP Pathway That Is Required for Development and Pathogenicity of the Phytopathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola." EUKARYOTIC CELL 8: 1001, 2009..

3. Stergiopoulos, I; de Wit, PJGM. "Fungal Effector Proteins." ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 47: 233, 2009..

4. Bernoux, M; Timmers, T; Jauneau, A; Briere, C; de Wit, PJGM; Marco, Y; Deslandes, L. "RD19, an Arabidopsis cysteine protease required for RRS1-R-mediated resistance, is relocalized to the nucleus by the Ralstonia solanacearum PopP2 effector." PLANT CELL 20: 2252, 2008..

5. Bolton, MD; van Esse, HP; Vossen, JH; de Jonge, R; Stergiopoulos, I; Stulemeijer, IJE; van den Berg, GCM; Borras-Hidalgo, O; Dekker, HL; de Koster, CG; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ; Thomma, BPHJ. "The novel Cladosporium fulvum lysin motif effector Ecp6 is a virulence factor with orthologues in other fungal species." MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY 69: 119, 2008..

6. van Esse, HP; van't Klooster, JW; Bolton, MD; Yadeta, KA; van Baarlen, P; Boeren, S; Vervoort, J; de Wit, PJGM; Thomma, BPHJ. "The Cladosporium fulvum virulence protein Avr2 inhibits host proteases required for basal defense." PLANT CELL 20: 1948, 2008..

7. Wang, GD; Ellendorff, U; Kemp, B; Mansfield, JW; Forsyth, A; Mitchell, K; Bastas, K; Liu, CM; Woods-Tor, A; Zipfel, C; de Wit, PJGM; Jones, JDG; Tor, M; Thomma, BPHJ. "A genome-wide functional investigation into the roles of receptor-like proteins in Arabidopsis." PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 147: 503, 2008..

8. Cai, XZ; Zhou, X; Xu, YP; Joosten, MHAJ; de Wit, PJGM. "Cladosporium fulvum CfHNNI1 induces hypersensitive necrosis, defence gene expression and disease resistance in both host and nonhost plants." PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 64: 89, 2007..

9. Gabriels, SHEJ; Vossen, JH; Ekengren, SK; van Ooijen, G; Abd-El-Haliem, AM; van den Berg, GCM; Rainey, DY; Martin, GB; Takken, FLW; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ. "An NB-LRR protein required for HR signalling mediated by both extra- and intracellular resistance proteins." PLANT JOURNAL 50: 14, 2007..

10. Siciliano, V; Genre, A; Balestrini, R; Cappellazzo, G; deWit, PJGM; Bonfante, P. "Transcriptome analysis of arbuscular mycorrhizal roots during development of the prepenetration apparatus." PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 144: 1455, 2007..

11. Stergiopoulos, I; De Kock, MJD; Lindhout, P; De Wit, PJGM. "Allelic variation in the effector genes of the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum reveals different modes of adaptive evolution." MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS 20: 1271, 2007..

12. Stergiopoulos, I; Groenewald, M; Staats, M; Lindhout, P; Crous, PW; De Wit, PJGM. "Mating-type genes and the genetic structure of a world-wide collection of the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum." FUNGAL GENETICS AND BIOLOGY 44: 415, 2007..

13. van Esse, HP; Bolton, MD; Stergiopoulos, L; de Wit, PJGM; Thomma, BPHJ. "The chitin-binding Cladosporium fulvum effector protein Avr4 is a virulence factor." MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS 20: 1092, 2007..

14. Gabriels, SHEJ; Takken, FLW; Vossen, JH; de Jong, CF; Liu, Q; Turk, SCHJ; Wachowski, LK; Peters, J; Witsenboer, HMA; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ. "cDNA-AFLP combined with functional analysis reveals novel genes involved in the hypersensitive response." MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS 19: 567, 2006..

15. Thomma, BPHJ; Bolton, MD; Clergeot, PH; De Wit, PJGM. "Nitrogen controls in planta expression of Cladosporium fulvum Avr9 but no other effector genes." MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 7: 125, 2006..

16. van den Burg, HA; Harrison, SJ; Joosten, MHAJ; Vervoort, J; de Wit, PJGM. "Cladosporium fulvum Avr4 protects fungal cell walls against hydrolysis by plant chitinases accumulating during infection." MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS 19: 1420, 2006..

17. van Esse, HP; Thomma, BPHJ; van 't Klooster, JW; de Wit, PJGM. "Affinity-tags are removed from Cladosporium fulvum effector proteins expressed in the tomato leaf apoplast." JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 57: 599, 2006..

18. de Kock, MJD; Brandwagt, BF; Bonnema, G; de Wit, PJGM; Lindhout, P. "The tomato Orion locus comprises a unique class of Hcr9 genes." MOLECULAR BREEDING 15: 409, 2005..

19. Kruijt, M; De Kock, MJD; De Wit, PJGM. "Receptor-like proteins involved in plant disease resistance - Review." MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 6: 85, 2005..

20. Kruijt, M; Kip, DJ; Joosten, MHAJ; Brandwagt, BF; de Wit, PJGM. "The Cf-4 and Cf-9 resistance genes against Cladosporium fulvum are conserved in wild tomato species." MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS 18: 1011, 2005..

21. Rooney, HCE; van 't Klooster, JW; van der Hoorn, RAL; Joosten, MHAJ; Jones, JDG; de Wit, PJGM. "Cladosporium Avr2 inhibits tomato Rcr3 protease required for Cf-2-dependent disease resistance." SCIENCE 308: 1783, 2005..

22. Thomma, BPHJ; Van Esse, HP; Crous, PW; De Wit, PJGM. "Cladosporium fulvum (syn. Passalora fulva), a highly specialized plant pathogen as a model for functional studies on plant pathogenic Mycosphaerellaceae." MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 6: 379, 2005..

23. van der Hoorn, RAL; Wulff, BBH; Rivas, S; Durrant, MC; van der Ploeg, A; de Wit, PJGM; Jones, JDG. "Structure-function analysis of Cf-9, a receptor-like protein with extracytoplasmic leucine-rich repeats." PLANT CELL 17: 1000, 2005..

24. de Jong, CF; Laxalt, AM; Bargmann, BOR; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ; Munnik, T. "Phosphatidic acid accumulation is an early response in the Cf-4/Avr4 interaction." PLANT JOURNAL 39: 1, 2004..

25. De Kock, MJD; Iskander, HM; Brandwagt, BF; Lauge, R; De Wit, PJGM; Lindhout, P. "Recognition of Cladosporium fulvum Ecp2 elicitor by non-host Nicotiana spp. is mediated by a single dominant gene that is not homologous to known Cf-genes." MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 5: 397, 2004..

26. Kruijt, M; Brandwat, BF; de Wit, PJGM. "Rearrangements in the Cf-9 disease resistance gene cluster of wild tomato have resulted in three genes that mediate Avr9 responsiveness." GENETICS 168: 1655, 2004..

27. van den Burg, HA; Spronk, CAEM; Boeren, S; Kennedy, MA; Vissers, JPC; Vuister, GW; de Wit, PJGM; Vervoort, J. "Binding of the AVR4 elicitor of Cladosporium fulvum to chitotriose units is facilitated by positive allosteric protein-protein interactions - The chitin-binding site of AVR4 represents a novel binding site on the folding scaffold shared between the invert." JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 279: 16786, 2004..

28. Westerink, N; Brandwagt, BF; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ. "Cladosporium fulvum circumvents the second functional resistance gene homologue at the Cf-4 locus (Hcr9-4E) by secretion of a stable avr4E isoform." MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY 54: 533, 2004..

29. Wulff, BBH; Kruijt, M; Collins, PL; Thomas, CM; Ludwig, AA; De Wit, PJGM; Jones, JDG. "Gene shuffling-generated and natural variants of the tomato resistance gene Cf-9 exhibit different auto-necrosis-inducing activities in Nicotiana species." PLANT JOURNAL 40: 942, 2004..

30. Latijnhouwers, M; de Wit, PJGM; Govers, F. "Oomycetes and fungi: similar weaponry to attack plants." TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY 11: 462, 2003..

31. Snoeijers, SS, Perez-Garcia, A, Goosen, T, De Wit, PJGM. "Promoter analysis of the avirulence gene Avr9 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans." Curr. Genet. 43: 96, 2003..

32. van den Burg, HA, Westerink, N, Francoijs, KJ, Roth, R, Woestenenk, E, Boeren, S, de Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ, Vervoort, J. "Natural disulfide bond-disrupted mutants of AVR4 of the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum are sensitive to proteolysis, circumvent Cf-4-mediated resistance, but retain their chitin binding ability." J. Biol. Chem. 278: 27340, 2003..

33. van den Burg, HA; Westerink, N; Francoijs, KJ; Roth, R; Woestenenk, E; Boeren, S; de Wit, PJGM; Joosten, MHAJ; Vervoort, J. "Natural disulfide bond-disrupted mutants of AVR4 of the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum are sensitive to proteolysis, circumvent Cf-4-mediated resistance, but retain their chitin binding ability." JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 278: 27340, 2003..

34. De Wit, PJGM, Brandwagt, BF, Van den Burg, HA, Cai, X, van den Hoorn, RAL, De Jong, CF, van ‘t Klooster, De Kock, MJD, Kruijt, M, Lindhout, WH, Luderer, R, Takken, FLW, Westerink, N, Vervoort, JJM, Joosten, MHAJ (2002). The molecular basis of co-evolution between Cladosporium fulvum and tomato. Molecular basis of co-evolution between Cladosporium fulvum and tomato. Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions: Vol. 3 / S.A. Leong, C. Allen, E.W. Triplett (eds.). 175-180.

35. De Wit, PJGM, Vervoort JJM, and de Wit, PJGM (2002). “ Efficient 13 C/15 N double labeling of proteins in a methanol-utilizing strain (Mut+ ) of Pichia pastoris” (10/205,616)..

36. De Wit, FLW, Luderer, R, Joosten, MHAJ, and de Wit, PJGM (2002) “Avr2”. (EP 02075629.2; March 11, 2002)..

37. de Jong, CF, Takken, FLW, Cai, XH, de Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "Attenuation of Cf-mediated defense responses at elevated temperatures correlates with a decrease in elicitor-binding sites." Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 15: 1040, 2002..

38. de Wit, PJGM, Brandwagt, BF, van den Burg, HA, Cai, X, van der Hoorn, RAL, de Jong, CF, van't Klooster, J, de Kock, MJD, Kruijt, M, Lindhout, WH, Luderer, R, Takken, FLW, Westerink, N, Vervoort, JJM, Joosten, MHAJ. "The molecular basis of co-evolution between Cladosporium fulvum and tomato." Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 81: 409, 2002..

39. de Wit, PJGM. "Plant biology - On guard." Nature 416: 801, 2002..

40. Luderer, R, De Kock, MJD, Dees, RHL, De Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "Functional analysis of cysteine residues of ECP elicitor proteins of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum." Mol. Plant Pathol. 3: 91, 2002..

41. Luderer, R, Takken, FLW, de Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "Cladosporium fulvum overcomes Cf-2-mediated resistance by producing truncated AVR2 elicitor proteins." Mol. Microbiol. 45: 875, 2002..

42. Van der Hoorn, RAL, De Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "Balancing selection favors guarding resistance proteins." Trends Plant Sci. 7: 67, 2002..

43. Westerink, N, Roth, R, Van den Burg, HA, De Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "The AVR4 elicitor protein of Cladosporium fulvum binds to fungal components with high affinity." Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 15: 1219, 2002..

44. Turk, SCHJ, Takken, FLW, De Jong, CF, Joosten, MHAJ and De Wit, PJGM ((2001). Nucleotide sequences involved in plant disease resistance (EP270741 A1 22-06, 2001). .

45. Luderer, R, Rivas, S, Nurnberger, T, Mattei, B, Van den Hooven, HW, Van der Hoorn, RAL, Romeis, T, Wehrfritz, JM, Blume, B, Nennstiel, D, Zuidema, D, Vervoort, J, De Lorenzo, G, Jones, JDG, De Wit, PJGM, Joosten, MHAJ. "No evidence for binding between resistance gene product Cf-9 of tomato and avirulence gene product AVR9 of Cladosporium fulvum." Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 14: 867, 2001..

46. Perez-Garcia, A, Snoeijers, SS, Joosten, MHAJ, Goosen, T, De Wit, PJGM. "Expression of the avirulence gene Avr9 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum is regulated by the global nitrogen response factor NRF1." Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 14: 316, 2001..

47. van den Burg, HA, de Wit, PJGM, Vervoort, J. "Efficient C-13/N-15 double labeling of the avirulence protein AVR4 in a methanol-utilizing strain (Mut(+)) of Pichia pastoris." J. Biomol. NMR 20: 251, 2001..

48. van den Hooven, HW, van den Burg, HA, Vossen, P, Boeren, S, de Wit, PJGM, Vervoort, J. "Disulfide bond structure of the AVR9 elicitor of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum: Evidence for a cystine knot." Biochemistry 40: 3458, 2001..

49. Van der Hoorn, RAL, Kruijt, M, Roth, R, Brandwagt, BF, Joosten, MHAJ, De Wit, PJGM. "Intragenic recombination generated two distinct Cf genes that mediate AVR9 recognition in the natural population of Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 98: 10493, 2001..

50. Van der Hoorn, RAL, Roth, R, De Wit, PJG. "Identification of distinct specificity determinants in resistance protein Cf-4 allows construction of a Cf-9 mutant that confers recognition of avirulence protein AVR4." Plant Cell 13: 273, 2001.