Roger W. Innes

Dr. Innes’ current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the plant immune system and development of novel strategies for engineering disease resistant crops. Over the course of his career, Dr. Innes has contributed to several seminal discoveries in plant-microbe interactions. These include the discovery that legumes secrete isoflavanoids from their roots to induce expression of nodulation genes in Rhizobium, the identification of the first effector proteins secreted by Pseudomonas syringae that are recognized by Arabidopsis, the identification and cloning of the Arabidopsis disease resistance genes RPM1 and RPS5, which were among the first plant disease resistance genes cloned, and development of the ‘guard model’ for disease resistance protein function, whereby disease resistance proteins sense modifications of host proteins targeted by pathogen effectors. This work is now being applied to crop plants to confer resistance to pathogens that threaten global food security. Most recently, his group has shown that plants secrete extracellular vesicles and RNA in response to pathogen infection, with the surprising discovery that plant leaves are coated by RNA. Currently, his laboratory is investigating whether this RNA is taken up by fungi and bacteria, testing the hypothesis that leaf surface RNA contributes to formation of a healthy microbiome while protecting plants from pathogens.