Plants can be colonized by fungi that have adopted highly diverse lifestyles, ranging from symbiotic to necrotrophic. Colonization is governed in all systems by hundreds of secreted fungal effector molecules. These effectors suppress plant defense responses and modulate plant physiology to accommodate fungal invaders and provide them with nutrients. Fungal effectors either function in the interaction zone between the fungal hyphae and host or are transferred to plant cells. This review describes the effector repertoires of 84 plant-colonizing fungi. We focus on the mechanisms that allow these fungal effectors to promote virulence or compatibility, discuss common plant nodes that are targeted by effectors, and provide recent insights into effector evolution. In addition, we address the issue of effector uptake in plant cells and highlight open questions and future challenges.

Biotrophic fungal plant pathogens establish an intimate relationship with their host to support the infection process. Central to this strategy is the secretion of a range of protein effectors that enable the pathogen to evade plant immune defences and modulate host metabolism to meet its needs. In this Review, using the smut fungus Ustilago maydis as an example, we discuss new insights into the effector repertoire of smut fungi that have been gained from comparative genomics and discuss the molecular mechanisms by which U. maydis effectors change processes in the plant host. Finally, we examine how the expression of effector genes and effector secretion are coordinated with fungal development in the host.

In fission yeast, myosin Vs contribute to actin cable extension through the cell and promote retrograde flow. Chimeric motor proteins are used to show that Myo52 organizes actin cables by both delivering cargoes to cell tips and exerting physical force pulling on the cables. This suggests that cable tracks are shaped by cargo transport.

Phosphorylation by the DYRK kinase Pom1 is one of two major signals for proper division site placement in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Pom1 phosphorylation of F-BAR protein Cdc15 inhibits its membrane and protein binding, thus inhibiting scaffolding of the cytokinetic ring and preventing mislocalized division.