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Schuster M, Schweizer G, Reißmann S, Happel P, Aßmann D, Rössel N, Güldener U, Mannhaupt G, Ludwig N, Winterberg S, Pellegrin C, Tanaka S, Vincon V, Presti LL, Wang L, Bender L, Gonzalez C, Vranes M, Kämper J, Seong K, Krasileva K, Kahmann R. Novel Secreted Effectors Conserved Among Smut Fungi Contribute to the Virulence of Ustilago maydis. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:250-263. [PMID: 38416124 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-09-23-0139-fi] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Fungal pathogens deploy a set of molecules (proteins, specialized metabolites, and sRNAs), so-called effectors, to aid the infection process. In comparison to other plant pathogens, smut fungi have small genomes and secretomes of 20 Mb and around 500 proteins, respectively. Previous comparative genomic studies have shown that many secreted effector proteins without known domains, i.e., novel, are conserved only in the Ustilaginaceae family. By analyzing the secretomes of 11 species within Ustilaginaceae, we identified 53 core homologous groups commonly present in this lineage. By collecting existing mutants and generating additional ones, we gathered 44 Ustilago maydis strains lacking single core effectors as well as 9 strains containing multiple deletions of core effector gene families. Pathogenicity assays revealed that 20 of these 53 mutant strains were affected in virulence. Among the 33 mutants that had no obvious phenotypic changes, 13 carried additional, sequence-divergent, structurally similar paralogs. We report a virulence contribution of seven previously uncharacterized single core effectors and of one effector family. Our results help to prioritize effectors for understanding U. maydis virulence and provide genetic resources for further characterization. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Schuster
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Gabriel Schweizer
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Independent Data Lab UG, 80937 Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Reißmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Petra Happel
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Aßmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Rössel
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Güldener
- Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, 80636 München, Germany
| | - Gertrud Mannhaupt
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Ludwig
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Research & Development, Weed Control Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, 65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sarah Winterberg
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Clément Pellegrin
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Shigeyuki Tanaka
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Volker Vincon
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Libera Lo Presti
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Lei Wang
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Lena Bender
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Phillips-University Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany
| | - Carla Gonzalez
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Miroslav Vranes
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Department of Genetics, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Jörg Kämper
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Department of Genetics, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Kyungyong Seong
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A
| | - Ksenia Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
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Fill JM, Meadows I, Walker JL, Crandall RM, Kerrigan JL. Smut fungus (Langdonia walkerae) incidence is lower in two bunchgrass species (Aristida stricta and A. beyrichiana) after fires early in the year. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2024; 111:e16286. [PMID: 38366863 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
PREMISE In frequently burned southeastern USA pine-grassland communities, wiregrass (Aristida stricta and A. beyrichiana) are dominant bunchgrasses whose flowers are infected during flowering by a smut fungus (Langdonia walkerae). We hypothesized that because prescribed fire timing affects wiregrass flowering patterns, it could affect smut incidence (occurrence of smut on plants) and severity of infection in inflorescences and spikelets. Because soil order could influence plant susceptibility, we hypothesized that these patterns would differ between soil orders. We hypothesized differences between species as representative of geographic variation in this ecosystem. METHODS We surveyed the incidence and severity of L. walkerae in wiregrass populations (85 populations at 14 sites) that had been prescription burned at different times during the previous year. We used binomial regressions to test whether incidence and severity differed by burn day, soil order, or species, with site as a random effect. RESULTS Fires that occurred in the winter were associated with significantly lower incidence than fires later in the year (as the months progressed into summer). Plants growing on Spodosol soils were significantly less likely to be infected than those on other soils. More variation in incidence, however, was explained by site, suggesting that site-specific characteristics were important. Smut severity in inflorescences and spikelets was greater overall in populations of A. stricta than in southern populations (A. beyrichiana). CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that fire timing and soil order affect L. walkerae incidence in wiregrass plants, but neither appears to be associated with greater severity. Patterns of smut infection are related to site history and geographic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M Fill
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611
| | - Inga Meadows
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mountain Research Station, North Carolina State University, Waynesville, NC, 28786
| | - Joan L Walker
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station, Clemson, SC, 29631
| | - Raelene M Crandall
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611
| | - Julia L Kerrigan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634
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Zhou S, Lin Y, Cai Y, Li L, Yao X, Sun K, Song Q, Zhang Q. The response of rhubarb to smut infection is revealed through a comparative transcriptome and metabolome study. PLANTA 2023; 259:27. [PMID: 38112830 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04306-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
MAIN CONCLUSION Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analysis have unveiled the physiological and molecular responses of rhubarb to infection by smut fungi. Rhubarb is an important medicinal plant that is easily infected by smut fungi during its growth. Thus far, no research on the influence of smut fungi on the growth of rhubarb and its secondary metabolism has been conducted. In this study, petioles of Chinese rhubarb (Rheum officinale) [healthy or infected with smut fungus (Thecaphora schwarzmaniana)] were characterized. Microscopic structure, global gene expression profiling, global metabolic profiling, and key enzyme activity and metabolite levels in infected plants were analyzed. Infection by smut fungi resulted in numerous holes inside the petiole tissue and led to visible tumors on the external surface of the petiole. Through metabolic changes, T. schwarzmaniana induced the production of specific sugars, lipids, and amino acids, and inhibited the metabolism of phenolics and flavonoids in R. officinale. The concentrations of key medicinal compounds (anthraquinones) were decreased because of smut fungus infection. In terms of gene expression, the presence of T. schwarzmaniana led to upregulation of the genes associated with nutrient (sugar, amino acid, etc.) transport and metabolism. The gene expression profiling showed a stimulated cell division activity (the basis of tumor formation). Although plant antioxidative response was enhanced, the plant defense response against pathogen was suppressed by T. schwarzmaniana, as indicated by the expression profiling of genes involved in biotic and abiotic stress-related hormone signaling and the synthesis of plant disease resistance proteins. This study demonstrated physiological and molecular changes in R. officinale under T. schwarzmaniana infection, reflecting the survival tactics employed by smut fungus for parasitizing rhubarb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuangshuang Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
- Chongqing Nanchuan Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants, Chongqing, 408407, China
| | - Ya Lin
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
- Chongqing Nanchuan Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants, Chongqing, 408407, China
| | - Yu Cai
- Chongqing Nanchuan Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants, Chongqing, 408407, China
| | - Linfang Li
- Teaching and research group of biology, Kunming No.8 High School, Kunming, China
| | - Xiaohui Yao
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
- Teaching and research group of biology, Hohhot 35th Middle School, Hohhot, China
| | - Kuan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Qin Song
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Qingwei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments of Three Gorges Reservoir Region, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
- Chongqing Nanchuan Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants, Chongqing, 408407, China.
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Arias SL, Mary VS, Velez PA, Rodriguez MG, Otaiza-González SN, Theumer MG. Where Does the Peanut Smut Pathogen, Thecaphora frezii, Fit in the Spectrum of Smut Diseases? PLANT DISEASE 2021; 105:2268-2280. [PMID: 33904333 DOI: 10.1094/pdis-11-20-2438-fe] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Smut fungi, such as Ustilago maydis, have been studied extensively as a model for plant-pathogenic basidiomycetes. However, little attention has been paid to smut diseases of agronomic importance that are caused by species of the genus Thecaphora, probably due to their more localized distribution. Peanut smut incited by Thecaphora frezii has been reported only in South America, and Argentina is the only country where this disease has been noted in commercial peanut production. In this work, important advances in deciphering T. frezii specific biology/pathobiology in relation to potato (T. solani), wheat (U. tritici), and barley (U. nuda) smuts are presented. We summarize the state of knowledge of fungal effectors, functionally characterized to date in U. maydis and most recently in T. thlaspeos, as well as the potential to be present in other Thecaphora species involved in dicot-host interactions like T. frezii-peanut. We also discuss applicability and limitations of currently available methods for identification of smut fungi in different situations and management strategies to reduce their impact on agri-food quality. We conclude by describing some of the challenges in elucidating T. frezii strategies that allow it to infect the host and tolerate or evade plant immune defense mechanisms, and assessing other aspects related to pest control and their implications for human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvina L Arias
- Plant Pathology and Microbiology Department, Seed Science Center, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-4009, U.S.A
| | - Verónica S Mary
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (FCQ), Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Pilar A Velez
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (FCQ), Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María G Rodriguez
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (FCQ), Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Santiago N Otaiza-González
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (FCQ), Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Martín G Theumer
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Facultad de Ciencias Químicas (FCQ), Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI), Córdoba, Argentina
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van der Linde K, Göhre V. How Do Smut Fungi Use Plant Signals to Spatiotemporally Orientate on and In Planta? J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:107. [PMID: 33540708 PMCID: PMC7913117 DOI: 10.3390/jof7020107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Smut fungi represent a large group of biotrophic plant pathogens that cause extensive yield loss and are also model organisms for studying plant-pathogen interactions. In recent years, they have become biotechnological tools. After initial penetration of the plant epidermis, smut fungi grow intra-and intercellularly without disrupting the plant-plasma membrane. Following the colonialization step, teliospores are formed and later released. While some smuts only invade the tissues around the initial penetration site, others colonize in multiple plant organs resulting in spore formation distal from the original infection site. The intimate contact zone between fungal hyphae and the host is termed the biotrophic interaction zone and enables exchange of signals and nutrient uptake. Obviously, all steps of on and in planta growth require fine sensing of host conditions as well as reprogramming of the host by the smut fungus. In this review, we highlight selected examples of smut fungal colonization styles, directional growth in planta, induction of spore formation, and the signals required, pointing to excellent reviews for details, to draw attention to some of the open questions in this important research field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina van der Linde
- Department of Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Vera Göhre
- Institute for Microbiology, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Leaping into the Unknown World of Sporisorium scitamineum Candidate Effectors. J Fungi (Basel) 2020; 6:jof6040339. [PMID: 33291820 PMCID: PMC7762069 DOI: 10.3390/jof6040339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Sporisorium scitamineum is a biotrophic fungus causing sugarcane smut disease. In this study, we set up a pipeline and used genomic and dual transcriptomic data previously obtained by our group to identify candidate effectors of S. scitamineum and their expression profiles in infected smut-resistant and susceptible sugarcane plants. The expression profile of different genes after infection in contrasting sugarcane genotypes assessed by RT-qPCR depended on the plant genotypes and disease progression. Three candidate effector genes expressed earlier only in resistant plants, four expressed in both genotypes, and three later in susceptible plants. Ten genes were cloned and transiently expressed in N. benthamiana leaves to determine their subcellular location, while four localized in more than one compartment. Two candidates, g3890 having a nucleoplasmic and mitochondrial location and g5159 targeting the plant cell wall, were selected to obtain their possible corresponding host targets using co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP) experiments and mass spectrometry. Various potential interactors were identified, including subunits of the protein phosphatase 2A and an endochitinase. We investigated the presence of orthologs in sugarcane and using transcriptome data present their expression profiles. Orthologs of sugarcane shared around 70% similarity. Identifying a set of putative fungal effectors and their plant targets provides a valuable resource for functional characterization of the molecular events leading to smut resistance in sugarcane plants and uncovers further opportunities for investigation.
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Jaswal R, Rajarammohan S, Dubey H, Sharma TR. Smut fungi as a stratagem to characterize rust effectors: opportunities and challenges. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 36:150. [PMID: 32924088 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02927-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The rust pathogens are one of the most complex fungi in the Basidiomycetes. The development of genomic resources for rust and other plant pathogens has opened the opportunities for functional genomics of fungal genes. Despite significant progress in the field of fungal genomics, functional characterization of the genome components has lacked, especially for the rust pathogens. Their obligate nature and lack of standard stable transformation protocol are the primary reasons for rusts to be one of the least explored genera despite its significance. In the recently sequenced rust genomes, a vast catalogue of predicted effectors and pathogenicity genes have been reported. However, most of these candidate genes remained unexplored due to the lack of suitable characterization methods. The heterologous expression of putative effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana has proved to be a rapid screening method for identifying the role of these effectors in virulence. However, no fungal system has been used for the functional validation of these candidate genes. The smuts, from the evolutionary point of view, are closely related to the rust pathogens. Moreover, they have been widely studied and hence could be a suitable model system for expressing rust fungal genes heterologously. The genetic manipulation methods for smuts are also well standardized. Complementation assays can be used for functional validation of the homologous genes present in rust and smut fungal pathogens, while the species-specific proteins can be expressed in the mutant strains of smut pathogens having reduced or no virulence for virulence analysis. We propose that smuts, especially Ustilago maydis, may prove to be a good model system to characterize rust effector proteins in the absence of methods to manipulate the rust genomes directly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajdeep Jaswal
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Sector-81 (Knowledge City), PO Manauli, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Sivasubramanian Rajarammohan
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Sector-81 (Knowledge City), PO Manauli, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Himanshu Dubey
- ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - T R Sharma
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Sector-81 (Knowledge City), PO Manauli, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India.
- Crop Science Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 110001, India.
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