1
|
Ding Y, Gardiner DM, Kazan K. Transcriptome analysis reveals infection strategies employed by Fusarium graminearum as a root pathogen. Microbiol Res 2021; 256:126951. [PMID: 34972022 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2021.126951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum (Fg) infects both heads and roots of cereal crops causing several economically important diseases such as head blight, seedling blight, crown rot and root rot. Trichothecene mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON), a well-known virulence factor, produced by Fg during disease development is also an important health concern. Although how Fg infects above-ground tissues is relatively well studied, very little is known about molecular processes employed by the pathogen during below-ground infection. Also unknown is the role of DON during root infection. In the present study, we analyzed the transcriptome of Fg during root infection of the model cereal Brachypodium distachyon (Bd). We also compared our Fg transcriptome data obtained during Bd root infection with those reported during wheat head infection. These analyses suggested that both shared and unique infection strategies were employed by the pathogen during colonization of different host tissues. Several metabolite biosynthesis genes induced in Fg during root infection could be linked to phytohormone production, implying that the pathogen likely interferes with root specific defenses. In addition, to understand the role of DON in Fg root infection, we analyzed the transcriptome of the DON deficient Tri5 mutant. These analyses showed that the absence of DON had a significant effect on fungal transcriptional responses. Although DON was produced in infected roots, this mycotoxin did not act as a Fg virulence factor during root infection. Our results reveal new mechanistic insights into the below-ground strategies employed by Fg that may benefit the development of new genetic tools to combat this important cereal pathogen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ding
- The Plant Breeding Institute, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Cobbitty, 2570, New South Wales, Australia; Agriculture and Food, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Donald M Gardiner
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia; Agriculture and Food, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kemal Kazan
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia; Agriculture and Food, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, 4067, Queensland, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jamil M, Kountche BA, Al-Babili S. Current progress in Striga management. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 185:1339-1352. [PMID: 33793943 PMCID: PMC8133620 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The Striga, particularly S. he rmonthica, problem has become a major threat to food security, exacerbating hunger and poverty in many African countries. A number of Striga control strategies have been proposed and tested during the past decade, however, further research efforts are still needed to provide sustainable and effective solutions to the Striga problem. In this paper, we provide an update on the recent progress and the approaches used in Striga management, and highlight emerging opportunities for developing new technologies to control this enigmatic parasite.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Jamil
- Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the BioActives Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Boubacar A Kountche
- Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the BioActives Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Salim Al-Babili
- Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the BioActives Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
- Author for communication:
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Schweizer G, Münch K, Mannhaupt G, Schirawski J, Kahmann R, Dutheil JY. Positively Selected Effector Genes and Their Contribution to Virulence in the Smut Fungus Sporisorium reilianum. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:629-645. [PMID: 29390140 PMCID: PMC5811872 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants and fungi display a broad range of interactions in natural and agricultural ecosystems ranging from symbiosis to parasitism. These ecological interactions result in coevolution between genes belonging to different partners. A well-understood example is secreted fungal effector proteins and their host targets, which play an important role in pathogenic interactions. Biotrophic smut fungi (Basidiomycota) are well-suited to investigate the evolution of plant pathogens, because several reference genomes and genetic tools are available for these species. Here, we used the genomes of Sporisorium reilianum f. sp. zeae and S. reilianum f. sp. reilianum, two closely related formae speciales infecting maize and sorghum, respectively, together with the genomes of Ustilago hordei, Ustilago maydis, and Sporisorium scitamineum to identify and characterize genes displaying signatures of positive selection. We identified 154 gene families having undergone positive selection during species divergence in at least one lineage, among which 77% were identified in the two investigated formae speciales of S. reilianum. Remarkably, only 29% of positively selected genes encode predicted secreted proteins. We assessed the contribution to virulence of nine of these candidate effector genes in S. reilianum f. sp. zeae by deleting individual genes, including a homologue of the effector gene pit2 previously characterized in U. maydis. Only the pit2 deletion mutant was found to be strongly reduced in virulence. Additional experiments are required to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the selection forces acting on the other candidate effector genes, as well as the large fraction of positively selected genes encoding predicted cytoplasmic proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Schweizer
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Karin Münch
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Gertrud Mannhaupt
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Institute for Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Jan Schirawski
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Microbial Genetics, Institute of Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Julien Y Dutheil
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier, “Genome” Department, CNRS, University of Montpellier 2, France
- Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abstract
Biotrophic fungal plant pathogens establish an intimate relationship with their host to support the infection process. Central to this strategy is the secretion of a range of protein effectors that enable the pathogen to evade plant immune defences and modulate host metabolism to meet its needs. In this Review, using the smut fungus Ustilago maydis as an example, we discuss new insights into the effector repertoire of smut fungi that have been gained from comparative genomics and discuss the molecular mechanisms by which U. maydis effectors change processes in the plant host. Finally, we examine how the expression of effector genes and effector secretion are coordinated with fungal development in the host.
Collapse
|
5
|
Le Fevre R, O'Boyle B, Moscou MJ, Schornack S. Colonization of Barley by the Broad-Host Hemibiotrophic Pathogen Phytophthora palmivora Uncovers a Leaf Development-Dependent Involvement of Mlo. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2016; 29:385-95. [PMID: 26927001 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-12-15-0276-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of barley Mlo demonstrated that filamentous pathogens rely on plant genes to achieve entry and lifecycle completion in barley leaves. While having a dramatic effect on foliar pathogens, it is unclear whether overlapping or distinct mechanisms affect filamentous pathogen infection of roots. To remove the bias connected with using different pathogens to understand colonization mechanisms in different tissues, we have utilized the aggressive hemibiotrophic oomycete pathogen Phytophthora palmivora. P. palmivora colonizes root as well as leaf tissues of barley (Hordeum vulgare). The infection is characterized by a transient biotrophy phase with formation of haustoria. Barley accessions varied in degree of susceptibility, with some accessions fully resistant to leaf infection. Notably, there was no overall correlation between degree of susceptibility in roots compared with leaves, suggesting that variation in different genes influences host susceptibility above and below ground. In addition, a developmental gradient influenced infection, with more extensive colonization observed in mature leaf sectors. The mlo5 mutation attenuates P. palmivora infection but only in young leaf tissues. The barley-P. palmivora interaction represents a simple system to identify and compare genetic components governing quantitative colonization in diverse barley tissue types.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Le Fevre
- 1 Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K.; and
| | - Bridget O'Boyle
- 1 Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K.; and
| | | | | |
Collapse
|