TY - JOUR T1 - A plant pathogen utilizes effector proteins for microbiome manipulation JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2020.01.30.926725 SP - 2020.01.30.926725 AU - Nick C. Snelders AU - Hanna Rovenich AU - Gabriella C. Petti AU - Mercedes Rocafort AU - Julia A. Vorholt AU - Jeroen R. Mesters AU - Michael F. Seidl AU - Reindert Nijland AU - Bart P.H.J. Thomma Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/01/31/2020.01.30.926725.abstract N2 - During colonization of their hosts, pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote disease development through various mechanisms. Increasing evidence shows that the host microbiome plays a crucial role in health, and that hosts actively shape their microbiomes to suppress disease. We hypothesized that pathogens evolved to manipulate host microbiomes to their advantage in turn. Here, we show that the fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae utilizes effector proteins for niche colonization through selective manipulation of host microbiomes by suppressing microbes with antagonistic activities. Moreover, we show that effector proteins are similarly exploited for microbiome manipulation in the soil environment, where the fungus resides in absence of a host. In conclusion, we demonstrate that pathogens utilize effector proteins to modulate microbiome compositions and propose that their effector catalogs represent an untapped resource for novel antibiotics. ER -