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Publications

2025

Madhuprakash, J., Toghani A., ... & Contreras, M. P. (2025). 
An effector from the potato late blight pathogen bridges ENTH-domain protein TOL9a to an activated helper NLR to suppress immunity. 
Biorxiv, doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.06.663370.

Seager, B. A., Harant, A., Contreras, M. P., …, & Madhuprakash, J. (2025) 
A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome.
Biorxiv, doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.14.664264

Sugihara, Y., Kourelis, J., Contreras, M. P., Pai, H., Selvaraj, M., ... & Kamoun, S. (2025). 
Helper NLR immune protein NRC3 evolved to evade inhibition by a cyst nematode virulence effector.
PLoS Genetics, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011653.

Pai, H., Sakai, T., Posbeyikian, A., Frijters, R., Sugihara, Y., Contreras, M. P., Kourelis, J., Adachi, H., Kamoun, S. & Toghani, A. (2025)
A hierarchical immune receptor network in lettuce reveals contrasting patterns of evolution in sensor and helper NLRs.
Biorxiv, doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.25.639832.

2024

Selvaraj, M., Toghani, A., Pai, H., Sugihara, Y., Kourelis, J., ... & Contreras, M. P. (2024). 
Activation of plant immunity through conversion of a helper NLR homodimer into a resistosome. 
PLoS Biology, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002868.

Contreras, M. P., Pai, H., Thompson, R., Marchal, C., Claeys, J., Adachi, H., & Kamoun, S. (2024). 
The nucleotide‐binding domain of NRC‐dependent disease resistance proteins is sufficient to activate downstream helper NLR oligomerization and immune signaling.
New Phytologist, doi.org/10.1111/nph.19818. 

Madhuprakash, J., Toghani, A., Contreras, M. P., Posbeyikian, A., Richardson, J., Kourelis, J., ... & Kamoun, S. (2024). 
A disease resistance protein triggers oligomerization of its NLR helper into a hexameric resistosome to mediate innate immunity. 
Science Advances, doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg3861.

Sakai, T., Contreras, M. P., Martinez-Anaya, C., Lüdke, D., Kamoun, S., … & Adachi, H. (2024). 
The NRC0 gene cluster of sensor and helper NLR immune receptors is functionally conserved across asterid plants. 
The Plant Cell, doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae154.

2023

Contreras, M. P., Lüdke, D., Pai, H., Toghani, A., & Kamoun, S. (2023). 
NLR receptors in plant immunity: making sense of the alphabet soup. 
EMBO reports, doi.org/10.15252/embr.202357495.
(First and Corresponding Author)

Contreras, M. P., Pai, H., Selvaraj, M., Toghani, A., Lawson, D. M., ... & Derevnina, L. (2023). 
Resurrection of plant disease resistance proteins via helper NLR bioengineering. 
Science Advances, doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg3861.

Ahn, H. K., Lin, X., Olave‐Achury, A. C., Derevnina, L., Contreras, M. P., ... & Jones, J. D. (2023).
Effector‐dependent activation and oligomerization of plant NRC class helper NLRs by sensor NLR immune receptors Rpi‐amr3 and Rpi‐amr1. 
The EMBO Journal, doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111484.

Sugihara, Y., Abe, Y., Takagi, H., Abe, A., ... , Contreras, M.P., ... , & Fujisaki, K. (2023).
Disentangling the complex gene interaction networks between rice and the blast fungus identifies a new pathogen effector. 
PLoS Biology, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001945.

2022

Contreras, M. P., Pai, H., Tumtas, Y., Duggan, C., Yuen, E. L. H., ... & Kamoun, S. (2022).
Sensor NLR immune proteins activate oligomerization of their NRC helpers in response to plant pathogens. 
The EMBO Journal, doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111519.

Kourelis, J., Contreras, M. P., Harant, A., Pai, H., Lüdke, D., Adachi, H., ... & Kamoun, S. (2022).
The helper NLR immune protein NRC3 mediates the hypersensitive cell death caused by the cell-surface receptor Cf-4. 
PLoS Genetics, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010414.

2021

Petre, B.*, Contreras, M. P.*, Bozkurt, T. O., Schattat, M. H., Sklenar, J., ... & Win, J. (2021).
Host-interactor screens of Phytophthora infestans RXLR proteins reveal vesicle trafficking as a major effector-targeted process. 
The Plant Cell, doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab069.

Derevnina, L., Contreras, M. P., Adachi, H., Upson, J., Cruces, A. V., ... & Kamoun, S. (2021). 
Plant pathogens convergently evolved to counteract redundant nodes of an NLR immune receptor network. 
PLoS Biology, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001136.

Białas, A., Langner, T., Harant, A., Contreras, M. P., Stevenson, C. E., ... & Kamoun, S. (2021). 
Two NLR immune receptors acquired high-affinity binding to a fungal effector through convergent evolution of their integrated domain.
Elife, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.66961.

2019

Adachi, H., Contreras, M. P., Harant, A., Wu, C. H., Derevnina, L., ... & Kamoun, S. (2019). 
An N-terminal motif in NLR immune receptors is functionally conserved across distantly related plant species. 
Elife, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.49956.

2018

Dagdas, Y. F., Pandey, P., Tumtas, Y., Sanguankiattichai, N., Belhaj, K., Duggan, C., Leary, A. Y., Segretin, M. E., Contreras, M. P., Savage, Z., Khandare, V. S., Kamoun, S. & Bozkurt, T. O. (2018)
Host autophagy machinery is diverted to the pathogen interface to mediate focal defense responses against the Irish potato famine pathogen.
Elife, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.37476.