Does botrytis cinerea Ignore H(2)O(2)-induced oxidative stress during infection? Characterization of botrytis activator protein 1

Genome-Wide Characterization of ISR Induced in Arabidopsis thaliana by Trichoderma hamatum T382 Against Botrytis cinerea Infection

In this study, the molecular basis of the induced systemic resistance (ISR) in Arabidopsis thaliana by the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma hamatum T382 against the phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea B05-10 was unraveled by microarray analysis both before (ISR-prime) and after (ISR-boost) additional pathogen inoculation. The observed high numbers of differentially expressed genes allowed us to classify them according to the biological pathways in which they are involved. By focusing on pathways instead of genes, a holistic picture of the mechanisms underlying ISR emerged. In general, a close resemblance is observed between ISR-prime and systemic acquired resistance, the systemic defense response that is triggered in plants upon pathogen infection leading to increased resistance toward secondary infections. Treatment with T. hamatum T382 primes the plant (ISR-prime), resulting in an accelerated activation of the defense response against B. cinerea during ISR-boost and a subsequent moderation of the B. cinerea induced defense response. Microarray results were validated for representative genes by qRT-PCR. The involvement of various defense-related pathways was confirmed by phenotypic analysis of mutants affected in these pathways, thereby proving the validity of our approach. Combined with additional anthocyanin analysis data these results all point to the involvement of the phenylpropanoid pathway in T. hamatum T382-induced ISR.

Arabidopsis WRKY33 is a key transcriptional regulator of hormonal and metabolic responses toward Botrytis cinerea infection

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) transcription factor WRKY33 is essential for defense toward the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Here, we aimed at identifying early transcriptional responses mediated by WRKY33. Global expression profiling on susceptible wrky33 and resistant wild-type plants uncovered massive differential transcriptional reprogramming upon B. cinerea infection. Subsequent detailed kinetic analyses revealed that loss of WRKY33 function results in inappropriate activation of the salicylic acid (SA)-related host response and elevated SA levels post infection and in the down-regulation of jasmonic acid (JA)-associated responses at later stages. This down-regulation appears to involve direct activation of several jasmonate ZIM-domain genes, encoding repressors of the JA-response pathway, by loss of WRKY33 function and by additional SA-dependent WRKY factors. Moreover, genes involved in redox homeostasis, SA signaling, ethylene-JA-mediated cross-communication, and camalexin biosynthesis were identified as direct targets of WRKY33. Genetic studies indicate that although SA-mediated repression of the JA pathway may contribute to the susceptibility of wrky33 plants to B. cinerea, it is insufficient for WRKY33-mediated resistance. Thus, WRKY33 apparently directly targets other still unidentified components that are also critical for establishing full resistance toward this necrotroph.

Identification of pathogenesis-associated genes by T-DNA-mediated insertional mutagenesis in Botrytis cinerea: a type 2A phosphoprotein phosphatase and an SPT3 transcription factor have significant impact on virulence

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) was used to generate an insertional mutant library of the gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea. From a total of 2,367 transformants, 68 mutants showing significant reduction in virulence on tomato and bean plants were analyzed in detail. As reported for other fungal ATMT libraries, integrations were mostly single copy, occurred preferentially in noncoding (regulatory) regions, and were frequently accompanied by small deletions of the target sequences and loss of parts of the border sequence. Two T-DNA integration events that were found to be linked to virulence were characterized in more detail: a catalytic subunit of a PP2A serine/threonine protein phosphatase (BcPP2Ac) and the SPT3 subunit of a Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase (SAGA-like) transcriptional regulator complex. Gene replacement and silencing approaches revealed that both Bcpp2Ac and SPT3 are crucial for virulence, growth, and differentiation as well as for resistance to H(2)O(2) in B. cinerea.

Plant defense mechanisms are activated during biotrophic and necrotrophic development of Colletotricum graminicola in maize

Hemibiotrophic plant pathogens first establish a biotrophic interaction with the host plant and later switch to a destructive necrotrophic lifestyle. Studies of biotrophic pathogens have shown that they actively suppress plant defenses after an initial microbe-associated molecular pattern-triggered activation. In contrast, studies of the hemibiotrophs suggest that they do not suppress plant defenses during the biotrophic phase, indicating that while there are similarities between the biotrophic phase of hemibiotrophs and biotrophic pathogens, the two lifestyles are not analogous. We performed transcriptomic, histological, and biochemical studies of the early events during the infection of maize (Zea mays) with Colletotrichum graminicola, a model pathosystem for the study of hemibiotrophy. Time-course experiments revealed that mRNAs of several defense-related genes, reactive oxygen species, and antimicrobial compounds all begin to accumulate early in the infection process and continue to accumulate during the biotrophic stage. We also discovered the production of maize-derived vesicular bodies containing hydrogen peroxide targeting the fungal hyphae. We describe the fungal respiratory burst during host infection, paralleled by superoxide ion production in specific fungal cells during the transition from biotrophy to a necrotrophic lifestyle. We also identified several novel putative fungal effectors and studied their expression during anthracnose development in maize. Our results demonstrate a strong induction of defense mechanisms occurring in maize cells during C. graminicola infection, even during the biotrophic development of the pathogen. We hypothesize that the switch to necrotrophic growth enables the fungus to evade the effects of the plant immune system and allows for full fungal pathogenicity.

Plant immunity to necrotrophs

Plants inhabit environments crowded with infectious microbes that pose constant threats to their survival. Necrotrophic pathogens are notorious for their aggressive and wide-ranging virulence strategies that promote host cell death and acquire nutrients for growth and reproduction from dead cells. This lifestyle constitutes the axis of their pathogenesis and virulence strategies and marks contrasting immune responses to biotrophic pathogens. The diversity of virulence strategies in necrotrophic species corresponds to multifaceted host immune response mechanisms. When effective, the plant immune system disarms the infectious necrotroph of its pathogenic arsenal or attenuates its effect, restricting further ingress and disease symptom development. Simply inherited resistance traits confer protection against host-specific necrotrophs (HSNs), whereas resistance to broad host-range necrotrophs (BHNs) is complex. Components of host genetic networks, as well as the molecular and cellular processes that mediate host immune responses to necrotrophs, are being identified. In this review, recent advances in our understanding of plant immune responses to necrotrophs and comparison with responses to biotrophic pathogens are summarized, highlighting common and contrasting mechanisms.

The purification and characterization of a novel hypersensitive-like response-inducing elicitor from Verticillium dahliae that induces resistance responses in tobacco

PevD1, a novel protein elicitor from the pathogenic cotton verticillium wilt fungus, Verticillium dahliae, induced a hypersensitive response in tobacco plants. In this paper, the elicitor was purified and analyzed using de novo sequencing. The protein-encoding pevD1 gene consists of a 468-bp open reading frame that produces a polypeptide of 155 amino acids, with a theoretical molecular weight of 16.23 kDa. The sequence of elicitor protein PevD1 was matched to the genomic sequence (GenBank accession no. ABJE 01000445.1) of a putative protein from V. dahliae strain vdls.17, but a function had not yet been reported. The pevD1 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant protein was characterized for its ability to confer systemic acquired resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Recombinant PevD1-treated plants exhibited enhanced systemic resistance compared to control, including a significant reduction in the number and size of TMV lesions on tobacco leaves. The elicitor protein-induced hydrogen peroxide production, extracellular-medium alkalization, callose deposition, phenolics metabolism, and lignin synthesis in tobacco. Our results demonstrate that elicitor-PevD1 triggers defense responses in intact tobacco plants.

The Botrytis cinerea Reg1 protein, a putative transcriptional regulator, is required for pathogenicity, conidiogenesis, and the production of secondary metabolites

Botrytis cinerea, which causes gray-mold rot, attacks a wide range of plant species. To understand the infection process, the role of a putative transcriptional regulator, BcReg1 (regulator 1), in pathogenicity was studied. This transcriptional regulator shows similarity to the morphological switch regulators Candida albicans Wor1 and Histoplasma capsulatum Ryp1. Gene knock-out and complementation studies revealed that bcreg1 is required for pathogenicity. The bcreg1 mutant is able to penetrate plant tissue but is not able to cause necrotic lesions. In addition, the mutant is blocked in conidia formation and does not produce detectable levels of the sesquiterpene botrydial and the polyketide botcinic acid. Based on transcript expression levels, it can be concluded that bcreg1 is a downstream target of two mitogen-activated protein kinases, BcSak1 and Bmp3.

Hydrogen peroxide formation in cacao tissues infected by the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa

In plant-pathogen interaction, the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) may play a dual role: its accumulation inhibits the growth of biotrophic pathogens, while it could help the infection/colonization process of plant by necrotrophic pathogens. One of the possible pathways of H₂O production involves oxalic acid (Oxa) degradation by apoplastic oxalate oxidase. Here, we analyzed the production of H₂O₂, the presence of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals and the content of Oxa and ascorbic acid (Asa)--the main precursor of Oxa in plants--in susceptible and resistant cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) infected by the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa. We also quantified the transcript level of ascorbate peroxidase (Apx), germin-like oxalate oxidase (Glp) and dehydroascorbate reductase (Dhar) by RT-qPCR. We report that the CaOx crystal amount and the H₂O₂ levels in the two varieties present distinct temporal and genotype-dependent patterns. Susceptible variety accumulated more CaOx crystals than the resistant one, and the dissolution of these crystals occurred in the early infection steps and in the final stage of the disease in the resistant and the susceptible variety, respectively. High expression of the Glp and accumulation of Oxa were observed in the resistant variety. The content of Asa increased in the inoculated susceptible variety, but remained constant in the resistant one. The susceptible variety presented reduced Dhar expression. The role of H₂O₂ and its formation from Oxa via Apx and Glp in resistant and susceptible variety infected by M. perniciosa were discussed.

The sesquiterpene botrydial produced by Botrytis cinerea induces the hypersensitive response on plant tissues and its action is modulated by salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling

Botrytis cinerea, as a necrotrophic fungus, kills host tissues and feeds on the remains. This fungus is able to induce the hypersensitive response (HR) on its hosts, thus taking advantage on the host's defense machinery for generating necrotic tissues. However, the identity of HR effectors produced by B. cinerea is not clear. The aim of this work was to determine whether botrydial, a phytotoxic sesquiterpene produced by B. cinerea, is able to induce the HR on plant hosts, using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model. Botrydial induced the expression of the HR marker HSR3, callose deposition, and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and phenolic compounds. Botrydial also induced the expression of PR1 and PDF1.2, two pathogenesis-related proteins involved in defense responses regulated by salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), respectively. A. thaliana and tobacco plants defective in SA signaling were more resistant to botrydial than wild-type plants, as opposed to A. thaliana plants defective in JA signaling, which were more sensitive. It can be concluded that botrydial induces the HR on its hosts and its effects are modulated by host signaling pathways mediated by SA and JA.

Genomic analysis of the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are closely related necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi notable for their wide host ranges and environmental persistence. These attributes have made these species models for understanding the complexity of necrotrophic, broad host-range pathogenicity. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in mating behaviour and the ability to produce asexual spores. We have sequenced the genomes of one strain of S. sclerotiorum and two strains of B. cinerea. The comparative analysis of these genomes relative to one another and to other sequenced fungal genomes is provided here. Their 38-39 Mb genomes include 11,860-14,270 predicted genes, which share 83% amino acid identity on average between the two species. We have mapped the S. sclerotiorum assembly to 16 chromosomes and found large-scale co-linearity with the B. cinerea genomes. Seven percent of the S. sclerotiorum genome comprises transposable elements compared to <1% of B. cinerea. The arsenal of genes associated with necrotrophic processes is similar between the species, including genes involved in plant cell wall degradation and oxalic acid production. Analysis of secondary metabolism gene clusters revealed an expansion in number and diversity of B. cinerea-specific secondary metabolites relative to S. sclerotiorum. The potential diversity in secondary metabolism might be involved in adaptation to specific ecological niches. Comparative genome analysis revealed the basis of differing sexual mating compatibility systems between S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea. The organization of the mating-type loci differs, and their structures provide evidence for the evolution of heterothallism from homothallism. These data shed light on the evolutionary and mechanistic bases of the genetically complex traits of necrotrophic pathogenicity and sexual mating. This resource should facilitate the functional studies designed to better understand what makes these fungi such successful and persistent pathogens of agronomic crops.

Flux of nitric oxide between the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea and the host plant

Nitric oxide (NO) production by Botrytis cinerea and the effect of externally supplied NO were studied during saprophytic growth and plant infection. Fluorescence analysis with 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate and electrochemical studies were conducted in vitro between 4 and 20 h of incubation and in planta between 15 and 75 h post-inoculation. The production of NO by B. cinerea in vitro was detected inside the germinating spores and mycelium and in the surrounding medium. In planta production of NO showed a large variation that was dependent on the host plant and developmental stage of the infection. The induced production of NO was detected from 16 h of in vitro incubation in response to externally added NO. The production of NO by B. cinerea is probably modulated to promote fungal colonization of the plant tissue. The production of NO which diffuses outside the fungal cells and the induction of NO production by exogenous NO open up the possibility of NO cross-talk between the fungus and the plant. Finally, the existence of an NO concentration threshold is proposed, which may increase or reduce the plant defence against necrotrophic fungal pathogens.

A permeable cuticle is associated with the release of reactive oxygen species and induction of innate immunity

Wounded leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana show transient immunity to Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of grey mould. Using a fluorescent probe, histological staining and a luminol assay, we now show that reactive oxygen species (ROS), including H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-), are produced within minutes after wounding. ROS are formed in the absence of the enzymes Atrboh D and F and can be prevented by diphenylene iodonium (DPI) or catalase. H(2)O(2) was shown to protect plants upon exogenous application. ROS accumulation and resistance to B. cinerea were abolished when wounded leaves were incubated under dry conditions, an effect that was found to depend on abscisic acid (ABA). Accordingly, ABA biosynthesis mutants (aba2 and aba3) were still fully resistant under dry conditions even without wounding. Under dry conditions, wounded plants contained higher ABA levels and displayed enhanced expression of ABA-dependent and ABA-reporter genes. Mutants impaired in cutin synthesis such as bdg and lacs2.3 are already known to display a high level of resistance to B. cinerea and were found to produce ROS even when leaves were not wounded. An increased permeability of the cuticle and enhanced ROS production were detected in aba2 and aba3 mutants as described for bdg and lacs2.3. Moreover, leaf surfaces treated with cutinase produced ROS and became more protected to B. cinerea. Thus, increased permeability of the cuticle is strongly linked with ROS formation and resistance to B. cinerea. The amount of oxalic acid, an inhibitor of ROS secreted by B. cinerea could be reduced using plants over expressing a fungal oxalate decarboxylase of Trametes versicolor. Infection of such plants resulted in a faster ROS accumulation and resistance to B. cinerea than that observed in untransformed controls, demonstrating the importance of fungal suppression of ROS formation by oxalic acid. Thus, changes in the diffusive properties of the cuticle are linked with the induction ROS and attending innate defenses.

Regulatory subunit B'gamma of protein phosphatase 2A prevents unnecessary defense reactions under low light in Arabidopsis

Light is an important environmental factor that modulates acclimation strategies and defense responses in plants. We explored the functional role of the regulatory subunit B'γ (B'γ) of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in light-dependent stress responses of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The predominant form of PP2A consists of catalytic subunit C, scaffold subunit A, and highly variable regulatory subunit B, which determines the substrate specificity of PP2A holoenzymes. Mutant leaves of knockdown pp2a-b'γ plants show disintegration of chloroplasts and premature yellowing conditionally under moderate light intensity. The cell-death phenotype is accompanied by the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide through a pathway that requires CONSTITUTIVE EXPRESSION OF PR GENES5 (CPR5). Moreover, the pp2a-b'γ cpr5 double mutant additionally displays growth suppression and malformed trichomes. Similar to cpr5, the pp2a-b'γ mutant shows constitutive activation of both salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid-dependent defense pathways. In contrast to cpr5, however, pp2a-b'γ leaves do not contain increased levels of salicylic acid or jasmonic acid. Rather, the constitutive defense response associates with hypomethylation of DNA and increased levels of methionine-salvage pathway components in pp2a-b'γ leaves. We suggest that the specific B'γ subunit of PP2A is functionally connected to CPR5 and operates in the basal repression of defense responses under low irradiance.

HYR1-mediated detoxification of reactive oxygen species is required for full virulence in the rice blast fungus

During plant-pathogen interactions, the plant may mount several types of defense responses to either block the pathogen completely or ameliorate the amount of disease. Such responses include release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to attack the pathogen, as well as formation of cell wall appositions (CWAs) to physically block pathogen penetration. A successful pathogen will likely have its own ROS detoxification mechanisms to cope with this inhospitable environment. Here, we report one such candidate mechanism in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, governed by a gene we refer to as MoHYR1. This gene (MGG_07460) encodes a glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) domain, and its homologue in yeast was reported to specifically detoxify phospholipid peroxides. To characterize this gene in M. oryzae, we generated a deletion mutantΔhyr1 which showed growth inhibition with increased amounts of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Moreover, we observed that the fungal mutants had a decreased ability to tolerate ROS generated by a susceptible plant, including ROS found associated with CWAs. Ultimately, this resulted in significantly smaller lesion sizes on both barley and rice. In order to determine how this gene interacts with other (ROS) scavenging-related genes in M. oryzae, we compared expression levels of ten genes in mutant versus wild type with and without H₂O₂. Our results indicated that the HYR1 gene was important for allowing the fungus to tolerate H₂O₂ in vitro and in planta and that this ability was directly related to fungal virulence.

Reactive oxygen species in phytopathogenic fungi: signaling, development, and disease

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a major role in pathogen-plant interactions: recognition of a pathogen by the plant rapidly triggers the oxidative burst, which is necessary for further defense reactions. The specific role of ROS in pathogen defense is still unclear. Studies on the pathogen so far have focused on the importance of the oxidative stress response (OSR) systems to overcome the oxidative burst or of its avoidance by effectors. This review focuses on the role of ROS for fungal virulence and development. In the recent years, it has become obvious that (a) fungal OSR systems might not have the predicted crucial role in pathogenicity, (b) fungal pathogens, especially necrotrophs, can actively contribute to the ROS level in planta and even take advantage of the host's response, (c) fungi possess superoxide-generating NADPH oxidases similar to mammalian Nox complexes that are important for pathogenicity; however, recent data indicate that they are not directly involved in pathogen-host communication but in fungal differentiation processes that are necessary for virulence.

The fungal pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus responds to maize phenolics: novel small molecule signals in a plant-fungal interaction

The transcription factor ChAP1 of the fungal pathogen of maize, Cochliobolus heterostrophus, responds to oxidative stress by migration to the nucleus and activation of antioxidant genes. Phenolic and related compounds found naturally in the host also trigger nuclear localization of ChAP1, but only slight upregulation of some antioxidant genes. ChAP1 thus senses phenolic compounds without triggering a strong antioxidant response. We therefore searched for genes whose expression is regulated by phenolic compounds and/or ChAP1. The C. heterostrophus genome contains a cluster of genes for metabolism of phenolics. One such gene, catechol dioxygenase CCHD1, was induced at least 10-fold by caffeic and coumaric acids. At high phenolic concentrations (≥ 1.6 mM), ChAP1 is needed for maximum CCHD1 expression. At micromolar levels of phenolics CCHD1 is as strongly induced in chap1 mutants as in the wild type. The pathogen thus detects phenolics by at least two signalling pathways: one causing nuclear retention of ChAP1, and another triggering induction of CCHD1 expression. The low concentrations required for induction of CCHD1 indicate fungal receptors for plant phenolics. Symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria are known to detect phenolics, and our findings generalize this to a eukaryotic pathogen. Phenolics and related compounds thus provide a ubiquitous plant-derived signal.

Microbially induced diseases of Agaricus bisporus: biochemical mechanisms and impact on commercial mushroom production

The button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach, the most common cultivated mushroom, is susceptible to a wide range of virus, bacterial, and fungal diseases. However, only some diseases were studied for the mechanisms involved in the host-microorganism interaction. This review deals with biochemical mechanisms related to cavity disease (Burkholderia gladioli) and to the interaction between A. bisporus and the causal agents responsible for the most severe diseases, namely the bacteria Pseudomonas tolaasii and Pseudomonas reactans and the fungi Trichoderma aggressivum and Lecanicillium fungicola.