Thanks for popping by! I’m Liz Florez, originally from Peru, with most of my research experience gained in New Zealand and currently working as a postdoctoral scientist in northern Germany, at the Environmental Genomics group at the University of Kiel and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology.

I’m passionate about molecular plant-microbe interactions, especially how fungal effector proteins drive virulence, evade plant immunity, and interact with their surrounding environment.

My current work focuses on the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, diving deep on the role of the effector AvrStb6. Although it was initially found that AvrStb6 is recognised by the wheat immune receptor Stb6, field sampling showed that Z. tritici still retains mutated versions of this effector. Some of the AvrStb6 isoforms are not only no longer recognised by Stb6 but are still highly expressed during the biotrophic phase of the fungus. This raises the question: what critical function is AvrStb6 performing? Why does this pathogen retained this effector despite the initial host pressure (Stb6 recognition)?

One of the hypothesis we are exploring, supported by microbiome data, is that AvrStb6 might be involved in modulating microbial dynamics in the wheat apoplast. If feeling curious, take a look at my recent posters for more information! :)