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Dulal N, Wilson RA. Paths of Least Resistance: Unconventional Effector Secretion by Fungal and Oomycete Plant Pathogens. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:653-661. [PMID: 38949402 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-12-23-0212-cr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Effector secretion by different routes mediates the molecular interplay between host plant and pathogen, but mechanistic details in eukaryotes are sparse. This may limit the discovery of new effectors that could be utilized for improving host plant disease resistance. In fungi and oomycetes, apoplastic effectors are secreted via the conventional endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi pathway, while cytoplasmic effectors are packaged into vesicles that bypass Golgi in an unconventional protein secretion (UPS) pathway. In Magnaporthe oryzae, the Golgi bypass UPS pathway incorporates components of the exocyst complex and a t-SNARE, presumably to fuse Golgi bypass vesicles to the fungal plasma membrane. Upstream, cytoplasmic effector mRNA translation in M. oryzae requires the efficient decoding of AA-ending codons. This involves the modification of wobble uridines in the anticodon loop of cognate tRNAs and fine-tunes cytoplasmic effector translation and secretion rates to maintain biotrophic interfacial complex integrity and permit host infection. Thus, plant-fungal interface integrity is intimately tied to effector codon usage, which is a surprising constraint on pathogenicity. Here, we discuss these findings within the context of fungal and oomycete effector discovery, delivery, and function in host cells. We show how cracking the codon code for unconventional cytoplasmic effector secretion in M. oryzae has revealed AA-ending codon usage bias in cytoplasmic effector mRNAs across kingdoms, including within the RxLR-dEER motif-encoding sequence of a bona fide Phytophthora infestans cytoplasmic effector, suggesting its subjection to translational speed control. By focusing on recent developments in understanding unconventional effector secretion, we draw attention to this important but understudied area of host-pathogen interactions. [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)
- Nawaraj Dulal
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, U.S.A
| | - Richard A Wilson
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, U.S.A
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Seong K, Wei W, Vega B, Dee A, Ramirez-Bernardino G, Kumar R, Parra L, Krasileva K. Engineering the plant intracellular immune receptor Sr50 to restore recognition of the AvrSr50 escape mutant. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.07.607039. [PMID: 39149390 PMCID: PMC11326300 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.07.607039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Sr50, an intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR), confers resistance of wheat against stem rust caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici. The receptor recognizes the pathogen effector AvrSr50 through its C-terminal leucine-rich repeat domain, initiating a localized cell death immune response. However, this immunity is compromised by mutations in the effector, as in the escape mutant AvrSr50QCMJC, which evades Sr50 detection. In this study, we employed iterative computational structural analyses and site-directed mutagenesis for rational engineering of Sr50 to gain recognition of AvrSr50QCMJC. Following an initial structural hypothesis driven by molecular docking, we identified the Sr50K711D single mutant, which induces an intermediate immune response against AvrSr50QCMJC without losing recognition against AvrSr50. Increasing gene expression with a stronger promoter enabled the mutant to elicit a robust response, indicating weak effector recognition can be complemented by enhanced receptor expression. Further structural refinements led to the creation of five double mutants and two triple mutants with dual recognition of AvrSr50 and AvrSr50QCMJC with greater immune response intensities than Sr50K711D against the escape mutant. All effective mutations against AvrSr50QCMJC required the K711D substitution, indicating that multiple solutions exist for gain of recognition, but the path to reach these mutations may be confined. Furthermore, this single substitution alters the prediction of AlphaFold 2, allowing it to model the complex structure of Sr50K711D and AvrSr50 that match our final structural hypothesis. Collectively, our study outlines a framework for rational engineering of NLR systems to overcome pathogen escape mutations and provides datasets for future computational models for NLR resurrection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungyong Seong
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Brandon Vega
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Amanda Dee
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Rakesh Kumar
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Lorena Parra
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ksenia Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94704
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3
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Outram MA, Chen J, Broderick S, Li Z, Aditya S, Tasneem N, Arndell T, Blundell C, Ericsson DJ, Figueroa M, Sperschneider J, Dodds PN, Williams SJ. AvrSr27 is a zinc-bound effector with a modular structure important for immune recognition. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:314-329. [PMID: 38730532 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19801] [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: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Effector proteins are central to the success of plant pathogens, while immunity in host plants is driven by receptor-mediated recognition of these effectors. Understanding the molecular details of effector-receptor interactions is key for the engineering of novel immune receptors. Here, we experimentally determined the crystal structure of the Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) effector AvrSr27, which was not accurately predicted using AlphaFold2. We characterised the role of the conserved cysteine residues in AvrSr27 using in vitro biochemical assays and examined Sr27-mediated recognition using transient expression in Nicotiana spp. and wheat protoplasts. The AvrSr27 structure contains a novel β-strand rich modular fold consisting of two structurally similar domains that bind to Zn2+ ions. The N-terminal domain of AvrSr27 is sufficient for interaction with Sr27 and triggering cell death. We identified two Pgt proteins structurally related to AvrSr27 but with low sequence identity that can also associate with Sr27, albeit more weakly. Though only the full-length proteins, trigger Sr27-dependent cell death in transient expression systems. Collectively, our findings have important implications for utilising protein prediction platforms for effector proteins, and those embarking on bespoke engineering of immunity receptors as solutions to plant disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan A Outram
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Jian Chen
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Sean Broderick
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Zhao Li
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Shouvik Aditya
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Nuren Tasneem
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Taj Arndell
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Cheryl Blundell
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Daniel J Ericsson
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Australian Synchrotron, Macromolecular Crystallography, Clayton, Vic., 3186, Australia
| | - Melania Figueroa
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Jana Sperschneider
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Peter N Dodds
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Simon J Williams
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
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De la Concepcion JC, Langner T, Fujisaki K, Yan X, Were V, Lam AHC, Saado I, Brabham HJ, Win J, Yoshida K, Talbot NJ, Terauchi R, Kamoun S, Banfield MJ. Zinc-finger (ZiF) fold secreted effectors form a functionally diverse family across lineages of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012277. [PMID: 38885263 PMCID: PMC11213319 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Filamentous plant pathogens deliver effector proteins into host cells to suppress host defence responses and manipulate metabolic processes to support colonization. Understanding the evolution and molecular function of these effectors provides knowledge about pathogenesis and can suggest novel strategies to reduce damage caused by pathogens. However, effector proteins are highly variable, share weak sequence similarity and, although they can be grouped according to their structure, only a few structurally conserved effector families have been functionally characterized to date. Here, we demonstrate that Zinc-finger fold (ZiF) secreted proteins form a functionally diverse effector family in the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. This family relies on the Zinc-finger motif for protein stability and is ubiquitously present in blast fungus lineages infecting 13 different host species, forming different effector tribes. Homologs of the canonical ZiF effector, AVR-Pii, from rice infecting isolates are present in multiple M. oryzae lineages. Wheat infecting strains of the fungus also possess an AVR-Pii like allele that binds host Exo70 proteins and activates the immune receptor Pii. Furthermore, ZiF tribes may vary in the proteins they bind to, indicating functional diversification and an intricate effector/host interactome. Altogether, we uncovered a new effector family with a common protein fold that has functionally diversified in lineages of M. oryzae. This work expands our understanding of the diversity of M. oryzae effectors, the molecular basis of plant pathogenesis and may ultimately facilitate the development of new sources for pathogen resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos De la Concepcion
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Koki Fujisaki
- Division of Genomics and Breeding, Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Iwate, Japan
| | - Xia Yan
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent Were
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Anson Ho Ching Lam
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Indira Saado
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Helen J. Brabham
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Joe Win
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Kentaro Yoshida
- Laboratory of Plant Genetics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nicholas J. Talbot
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- Division of Genomics and Breeding, Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Iwate, Japan
- Laboratory of Crop Evolution, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Mark J. Banfield
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
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Lahfa M, Barthe P, de Guillen K, Cesari S, Raji M, Kroj T, Le Naour—Vernet M, Hoh F, Gladieux P, Roumestand C, Gracy J, Declerck N, Padilla A. The structural landscape and diversity of Pyricularia oryzae MAX effectors revisited. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012176. [PMID: 38709846 PMCID: PMC11132498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Magnaporthe AVRs and ToxB-like (MAX) effectors constitute a family of secreted virulence proteins in the fungus Pyricularia oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe oryzae), which causes blast disease on numerous cereals and grasses. In spite of high sequence divergence, MAX effectors share a common fold characterized by a ß-sandwich core stabilized by a conserved disulfide bond. In this study, we investigated the structural landscape and diversity within the MAX effector repertoire of P. oryzae. Combining experimental protein structure determination and in silico structure modeling we validated the presence of the conserved MAX effector core domain in 77 out of 94 groups of orthologs (OG) identified in a previous population genomic study. Four novel MAX effector structures determined by NMR were in remarkably good agreement with AlphaFold2 (AF2) predictions. Based on the comparison of the AF2-generated 3D models we propose a classification of the MAX effectors superfamily in 20 structural groups that vary in the canonical MAX fold, disulfide bond patterns, and additional secondary structures in N- and C-terminal extensions. About one-third of the MAX family members remain singletons, without strong structural relationship to other MAX effectors. Analysis of the surface properties of the AF2 MAX models also highlights the high variability within the MAX family at the structural level, potentially reflecting the wide diversity of their virulence functions and host targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mounia Lahfa
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Philippe Barthe
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Karine de Guillen
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Stella Cesari
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Mouna Raji
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Thomas Kroj
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Marie Le Naour—Vernet
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - François Hoh
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Pierre Gladieux
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Christian Roumestand
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Gracy
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - Nathalie Declerck
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
| | - André Padilla
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, Univ Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5048, INSERM U 1054, Montpellier, France
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Joubert PM, Krasileva KV. Distinct genomic contexts predict gene presence-absence variation in different pathotypes of Magnaporthe oryzae. Genetics 2024; 226:iyae012. [PMID: 38290434 PMCID: PMC10990425 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Fungi use the accessory gene content of their pangenomes to adapt to their environments. While gene presence-absence variation contributes to shaping accessory gene reservoirs, the genomic contexts that shape these events remain unclear. Since pangenome studies are typically species-wide and do not analyze different populations separately, it is yet to be uncovered whether presence-absence variation patterns and mechanisms are consistent across populations. Fungal plant pathogens are useful models for studying presence-absence variation because they rely on it to adapt to their hosts, and members of a species often infect distinct hosts. We analyzed gene presence-absence variation in the blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae (syn. Pyricularia oryzae), and found that presence-absence variation genes involved in host-pathogen and microbe-microbe interactions may drive the adaptation of the fungus to its environment. We then analyzed genomic and epigenomic features of presence-absence variation and observed that proximity to transposable elements, gene GC content, gene length, expression level in the host, and histone H3K27me3 marks were different between presence-absence variation genes and conserved genes. We used these features to construct a model that was able to predict whether a gene is likely to experience presence-absence variation with high precision (86.06%) and recall (92.88%) in M. oryzae. Finally, we found that presence-absence variation genes in the rice and wheat pathotypes of M. oryzae differed in their number and their genomic context. Our results suggest that genomic and epigenomic features of gene presence-absence variation can be used to better understand and predict fungal pangenome evolution. We also show that substantial intra-species variation can exist in these features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre M Joubert
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ksenia V Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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Baudin M, Le Naour‐Vernet M, Gladieux P, Tharreau D, Lebrun M, Lambou K, Leys M, Fournier E, Césari S, Kroj T. Pyricularia oryzae: Lab star and field scourge. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2024; 25:e13449. [PMID: 38619508 PMCID: PMC11018116 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13449] [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: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Pyricularia oryzae (syn. Magnaporthe oryzae), is a filamentous ascomycete that causes a major disease called blast on cereal crops, as well as on a wide variety of wild and cultivated grasses. Blast diseases have a tremendous impact worldwide particularly on rice and on wheat, where the disease emerged in South America in the 1980s, before spreading to Asia and Africa. Its economic importance, coupled with its amenability to molecular and genetic manipulation, have inspired extensive research efforts aiming at understanding its biology and evolution. In the past 40 years, this plant-pathogenic fungus has emerged as a major model in molecular plant-microbe interactions. In this review, we focus on the clarification of the taxonomy and genetic structure of the species and its host range determinants. We also discuss recent molecular studies deciphering its lifecycle. TAXONOMY Kingdom: Fungi, phylum: Ascomycota, sub-phylum: Pezizomycotina, class: Sordariomycetes, order: Magnaporthales, family: Pyriculariaceae, genus: Pyricularia. HOST RANGE P. oryzae has the ability to infect a wide range of Poaceae. It is structured into different host-specialized lineages that are each associated with a few host plant genera. The fungus is best known to cause tremendous damage to rice crops, but it can also attack other economically important crops such as wheat, maize, barley, and finger millet. DISEASE SYMPTOMS P. oryzae can cause necrotic lesions or bleaching on all aerial parts of its host plants, including leaf blades, sheaths, and inflorescences (panicles, spikes, and seeds). Characteristic symptoms on leaves are diamond-shaped silver lesions that often have a brown margin and whose appearance is influenced by numerous factors such as the plant genotype and environmental conditions. USEFUL WEBSITES Resources URL Genomic data repositories http://genome.jouy.inra.fr/gemo/ Genomic data repositories http://openriceblast.org/ Genomic data repositories http://openwheatblast.net/ Genome browser for fungi (including P. oryzae) http://fungi.ensembl.org/index.html Comparative genomics database https://mycocosm.jgi.doe.gov/mycocosm/home T-DNA mutant database http://atmt.snu.kr/ T-DNA mutant database http://www.phi-base.org/ SNP and expression data https://fungidb.org/fungidb/app/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maël Baudin
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
- Present address:
Université Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAVAngersFrance
| | - Marie Le Naour‐Vernet
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Pierre Gladieux
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Didier Tharreau
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
- CIRAD, UMR PHIMMontpellierFrance
| | - Marc‐Henri Lebrun
- UMR 1290 BIOGER – Campus Agro Paris‐Saclay – INRAE‐AgroParisTechPalaiseauFrance
| | - Karine Lambou
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Marie Leys
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Elisabeth Fournier
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Stella Césari
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Thomas Kroj
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRDMontpellierFrance
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Jaswal R, Rajarammohan S, Dubey H, Kiran K, Rawal H, Sonah H, Deshmukh R, Sharma TR. Intrinsically Disordered Kiwellin Protein-Like Effectors Target Plant Chloroplasts and are Extensively Present in Rust Fungi. Mol Biotechnol 2024; 66:845-864. [PMID: 37000361 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-023-00717-y] [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: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
The effector proteins produced by plant pathogens are one of the essential components of host-pathogen interaction. Despite being important, most of the effector proteins remain unexplored due to the diversity in their primary sequence generated by the high selection pressure of the host immune system. However to maintain the primary function in the infection process, these effectors may tend to maintain their native protein fold to perform the corresponding biological function. In the present study, unannotated candidate secretory effector proteins of sixteen major plant fungal pathogens were analyzed to find the conserved known protein folds using homology, ab initio, and Alpha Fold/Rosetta Fold protein dimensional (3D) structure approaches. Several unannotated candidate effector proteins were found to match various known conserved protein families potentially involved in host defense manipulation in different plant pathogens. Surprisingly a large number of plant Kiwellin proteins fold like secretory proteins (> 100) were found in studied rust fungal pathogens. Many of them were predicted as potential effector proteins. Furthermore, template independent modelling using Alpha Fold/Rosetta Fold analysis and structural comparison of these candidates also predicted them to match with plant Kiwellin proteins. We also found plant Kiwellin matching proteins outside rusts including several non-pathogenic fungi suggesting the broad function of these proteins. One of the highest confidently modeled Kiwellin matching candidates effectors, Pstr_13960 (97.8%), from the Indian P. striiformis race Yr9 was characterized using overexpression, localization, and deletion studies in Nicotiana benthamiana. The Pstr_13960 suppressed the BAX-induced cell death and localized in the chloroplast. Furthermore, the expression of the Kiwellin matching region (Pst_13960_kiwi) alone suppressed the BAX-induced cell death in N. benthamiana despite the change of location to the cytoplasm and nucleus, suggesting the novel function of the Kiwellin core fold in rust fungi. Molecular docking showed that Pstr_13960 can interact with plant Chorismate mutases (CMs) using three loops conserved in plant and rust Kiwellins. Further analysis of Pstr_13960 showed to contain Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in place of the N-terminal β1/β2 region found in plant Kiwellins suggesting the evolution of rust Kiwellins-like effectors (KLEs). Overall, this study reports the presence of a Kiwellin protein-like fold containing a novel effector protein family in rust fungi depicting a classical example of the evolution of effectors at the structure level as Kiwellin effectors show very low significant similarity to plant Kiwellin at the sequence level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajdeep Jaswal
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | | | - Himanshu Dubey
- National Institute On Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Kanti Kiran
- National Institute On Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Hukam Rawal
- National Institute On Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Humira Sonah
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Rupesh Deshmukh
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Tilak Raj Sharma
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India.
- Division of Crop Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi, 110001, India.
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9
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Bleau JR, Gaur N, Fu Y, Bos JIB. Unveiling the Slippery Secrets of Saliva: Effector Proteins of Phloem-Feeding Insects. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:211-219. [PMID: 38148271 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-10-23-0167-fi] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Phloem-feeding insects include many important agricultural pests that cause crop damage globally, either through feeding-related damage or upon transmission of viruses and microbes that cause plant diseases. With genetic crop resistances being limited to most of these pests, control relies on insecticides, which are costly and damaging to the environment and to which insects can develop resistance. Like other plant parasites, phloem-feeding insects deliver effectors inside their host plants to promote susceptibility, most likely by a combination of suppressing immunity and promoting nutrient availability. The recent emergence of the effector paradigm in plant-insect interactions is highlighted by increasing availability of effector repertoires for a range of species and a broadening of our knowledge concerning effector functions. Here, we focus on recent progress made toward identification of effector repertoires from phloem-feeding insects and developments in effector biology that will advance functional characterization studies. Importantly, identification of effector activities from herbivorous insects promises to provide new avenues toward development of crop protection strategies. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade R Bleau
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
| | - Namami Gaur
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
| | - Yao Fu
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
| | - Jorunn I B Bos
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
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10
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Figueroa M, Coaker G, Kanyuka K. Focus on the Effectors at the Interface of Plant-Microbe Interactions. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:168-170. [PMID: 38573845 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-02-24-0010-cm] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Melania Figueroa
- Black Mountain Science and Innovation Park, CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
| | - Gitta Coaker
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A
| | - Kostya Kanyuka
- National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), Cambridge, CB3 0LE, U.K
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11
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Waksman T, Astin E, Fisher SR, Hunter WN, Bos JIB. Computational Prediction of Structure, Function, and Interaction of Myzus persicae (Green Peach Aphid) Salivary Effector Proteins. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:338-346. [PMID: 38171380 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-10-23-0154-fi] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Similar to plant pathogens, phloem-feeding insects such as aphids deliver effector proteins inside their hosts that act to promote host susceptibility and enable feeding and infestation. Despite exciting progress toward identifying and characterizing effector proteins from these insects, their functions remain largely unknown. The recent groundbreaking development in protein structure prediction algorithms, combined with the availability of proteomics and transcriptomic datasets for agriculturally important pests, provides new opportunities to explore the structural and functional diversity of effector repertoires. In this study, we sought to gain insight into the infection strategy used by the Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) by predicting and analyzing the structures of a set of 71 effector candidate proteins. We used two protein structure prediction methods, AlphaFold and OmegaFold, that produced mutually consistent results. We observed a wide continuous spectrum of structures among the effector candidates, from disordered proteins to globular enzymes. We made use of the structural information and state-of-the-art computational methods to predict M. persicae effector protein properties, including function and interaction with host plant proteins. Overall, our investigation provides novel insights into prediction of structure, function, and interaction of M. persicae effector proteins and will guide the necessary experimental characterization to address new hypotheses. [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)
- Thomas Waksman
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Edmund Astin
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - S Ronan Fisher
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - William N Hunter
- Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, U.K
| | - Jorunn I B Bos
- Division of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, U.K
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, U.K
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12
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Yu DS, Outram MA, Smith A, McCombe CL, Khambalkar PB, Rima SA, Sun X, Ma L, Ericsson DJ, Jones DA, Williams SJ. The structural repertoire of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici effectors revealed by experimental and computational studies. eLife 2024; 12:RP89280. [PMID: 38411527 PMCID: PMC10942635 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Plant pathogens secrete proteins, known as effectors, that function in the apoplast or inside plant cells to promote virulence. Effector recognition by cell-surface or cytosolic receptors results in the activation of defence pathways and plant immunity. Despite their importance, our general understanding of fungal effector function and recognition by immunity receptors remains poor. One complication often associated with effectors is their high sequence diversity and lack of identifiable sequence motifs precluding prediction of structure or function. In recent years, several studies have demonstrated that fungal effectors can be grouped into structural classes, despite significant sequence variation and existence across taxonomic groups. Using protein X-ray crystallography, we identify a new structural class of effectors hidden within the secreted in xylem (SIX) effectors from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol). The recognised effectors Avr1 (SIX4) and Avr3 (SIX1) represent the founding members of the Fol dual-domain (FOLD) effector class, with members containing two distinct domains. Using AlphaFold2, we predicted the full SIX effector repertoire of Fol and show that SIX6 and SIX13 are also FOLD effectors, which we validated experimentally for SIX6. Based on structural prediction and comparisons, we show that FOLD effectors are present within three divisions of fungi and are expanded in pathogens and symbionts. Further structural comparisons demonstrate that Fol secretes effectors that adopt a limited number of structural folds during infection of tomato. This analysis also revealed a structural relationship between transcriptionally co-regulated effector pairs. We make use of the Avr1 structure to understand its recognition by the I receptor, which leads to disease resistance in tomato. This study represents an important advance in our understanding of Fol-tomato, and by extension plant-fungal interactions, which will assist in the development of novel control and engineering strategies to combat plant pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Yu
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Megan A Outram
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Ashley Smith
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Carl L McCombe
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Pravin B Khambalkar
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Sharmin A Rima
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Xizhe Sun
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
- Key Laboratory of Hebei Province for Plant Physiology and Molecular Pathology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agriculture UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Lisong Ma
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
- State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Daniel J Ericsson
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
- The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Australian SynchrotronClaytonAustralia
| | - David A Jones
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Simon J Williams
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
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13
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Chakraborty A, Hussain A, Sabnam N. Uncovering the structural stability of Magnaporthe oryzae effectors: a secretome-wide in silico analysis. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-22. [PMID: 38109060 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2292795] [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: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Rice blast, caused by the ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is a deadly disease and a major threat to global food security. The pathogen secretes small proteinaceous effectors, virulence factors, inside the host to manipulate and perturb the host immune system, allowing the pathogen to colonize and establish a successful infection. While the molecular functions of several effectors are characterized, very little is known about the structural stability of these effectors. We analyzed a total of 554 small secretory proteins (SSPs) from the M. oryzae secretome to decipher key features of intrinsic disorder (ID) and the structural dynamics of the selected putative effectors through thorough and systematic in silico studies. Our results suggest that out of the total SSPs, 66% were predicted as effector proteins, released either into the apoplast or cytoplasm of the host cell. Of these, 68% were found to be intrinsically disordered effector proteins (IDEPs). Among the six distinct classes of disordered effectors, we observed peculiar relationships between the localization of several effectors in the apoplast or cytoplasm and the degree of disorder. We determined the degree of structural disorder and its impact on protein foldability across all the putative small secretory effector proteins from the blast pathogen, further validated by molecular dynamics simulation studies. This study provides definite clues toward unraveling the mystery behind the importance of structural distortions in effectors and their impact on plant-pathogen interactions. The study of these dynamical segments may help identify new effectors as well.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Afzal Hussain
- Department of Bioinformatics, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, India
| | - Nazmiara Sabnam
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
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14
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Nakamoto AA, Joubert PM, Krasileva KV. Intraspecific Variation of Transposable Elements Reveals Differences in the Evolutionary History of Fungal Phytopathogen Pathotypes. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad206. [PMID: 37975814 PMCID: PMC10691877 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) contribute to intraspecific variation and play important roles in the evolution of fungal genomes. However, our understanding of the processes that shape TE landscapes is limited, as is our understanding of the relationship between TE content, population structure, and evolutionary history of fungal species. Fungal plant pathogens, which often have host-specific populations, are useful systems in which to study intraspecific TE content diversity. Here, we describe TE dynamics in five lineages of Magnaporthe oryzae, the fungus that causes blast disease of rice, wheat, and many other grasses. We identified differences in TE content across these lineages and showed that recent lineage-specific expansions of certain TEs have contributed to overall greater TE content in rice-infecting and Setaria-infecting lineages. We reconstructed the evolutionary histories of long terminal repeat-retrotransposon expansions and found that in some cases they were caused by complex proliferation dynamics of one element and in others by multiple elements from an older population of TEs multiplying in parallel. Additionally, we found evidence suggesting the recent transfer of a DNA transposon between rice- and wheat-infecting M. oryzae lineages and a region showing evidence of homologous recombination between those lineages, which could have facilitated such a transfer. By investigating intraspecific TE content variation, we uncovered key differences in the proliferation dynamics of TEs in various pathotypes of a fungal plant pathogen, giving us a better understanding of the evolutionary history of the pathogen itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne A Nakamoto
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Pierre M Joubert
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Ksenia V Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
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15
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Bouqellah NA, Farag PF. In Silico Evaluation, Phylogenetic Analysis, and Structural Modeling of the Class II Hydrophobin Family from Different Fungal Phytopathogens. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2632. [PMID: 38004644 PMCID: PMC10672791 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112632] [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: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The class II hydrophobin group (HFBII) is an extracellular group of proteins that contain the HFBII domain and eight conserved cysteine residues. These proteins are exclusively secreted by fungi and have multiple functions with a probable role as effectors. In the present study, a total of 45 amino acid sequences of hydrophobin class II proteins from different phytopathogenic fungi were retrieved from the NCBI database. We used the integration of well-designed bioinformatic tools to characterize and predict their physicochemical parameters, novel motifs, 3D structures, multiple sequence alignment (MSA), evolution, and functions as effector proteins through molecular docking. The results revealed new features for these protein members. The ProtParam tool detected the hydrophobicity properties of all proteins except for one hydrophilic protein (KAI3335996.1). Out of 45 proteins, six of them were detected as GPI-anchored proteins by the PredGPI server. Different 3D structure templates with high pTM scores were designed by Multifold v1, AlphaFold2, and trRosetta. Most of the studied proteins were anticipated as apoplastic effectors and matched with the ghyd5 gene of Fusarium graminearum as virulence factors. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis unraveled the molecular function of this group as GTP-binding proteins, while a molecular docking analysis detected a chitin-binding effector role. From the MSA analysis, it was observed that the HFBII sequences shared conserved 2 Pro (P) and 2 Gly (G) amino acids besides the known eight conserved cysteine residues. The evolutionary analysis and phylogenetic tree provided evidence of episodic diversifying selection at the branch level using the aBSREL tool. A detailed in silico analysis of this family and the present findings will provide a better understanding of the HFBII characters and evolutionary relationships, which could be very useful in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahla A. Bouqellah
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Taibah University, P.O. Box 344, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah 42317-8599, Saudi Arabia
| | - Peter F. Farag
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt;
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16
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Sarkar D, Majumder S, Giri K, Sabnam N. In silico characterization, molecular docking, and dynamic simulation of a novel fungal cell-death suppressing effector, MoRlpA as potential cathepsin B-like cysteine protease inhibitor during rice blast infection. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:9039-9056. [PMID: 36345772 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2139763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most notorious pathogens affecting rice production worldwide. The cereal killer employs a special class of small secreted proteins called effectors to manipulate and perturb the host metabolism. In turn, the host plants trigger effector-triggered immunity (ETI) via localized cell death and hypersensitive response (HR). We have identified and characterized a novel secreted effector MoRlpA from M. oryzae by extensive in silico methods. The localization studies suggested that it is exclusively secreted in the host apoplasts. Interestingly, MoRlpA interacts with a protease, cathepsin B from rice with highest affinity. The 3D structural models of both the proteins were generated. Cathepsin B-like cysteine proteases are usually involved in programmed cell death (PCD) and autophagy in plants which lead to generation of HR upon infection. Our results suggest that MoRlpA interacts with rice cathepsin B-like cysteine protease and demolish the host counter-attack by suppressing cell death and HR during an active blast infection. This was further validated by molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation analyses. The important residues involved in the rice-blast pathogen interactions were deciphered. Overall, this research highlights stable interactions between MoRlpA-OsCathB during rice blast pathogenesis and providing an insight into how this novel RlpA protease inhibitor-cum-effector modulates the host's apoplast to invade the host tissues and establish a successful infection. Thus, this research will help to develop potential fungicide to block the binding region of MoRlpA target so that the cryptic pathogen would be recognized by the host. HIGHLIGHTSFor the first time, a novel secreted effector protein, MoRlpA has been identified and characterised from M. oryzae in silicoMoRlpA contains a rare lipoprotein A-like DPBB domain which is often an enzymatic domain in other systemsMoRlpA as an apoplastic effector interacts with the rice protease OsCathB to suppress the cell death and hypersensitive response during rice blast infectionThe three-dimensional structures of both the MoRlpA and OsCathB proteins were predictedMoRlpA-OsCathB interactions were analysed by molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation studiesCommunicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debrup Sarkar
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
| | | | - Kalyan Giri
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
| | - Nazmiara Sabnam
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
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17
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Dracatos PM, Lu J, Sánchez‐Martín J, Wulff BB. Resistance that stacks up: engineering rust and mildew disease control in the cereal crops wheat and barley. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2023; 21:1938-1951. [PMID: 37494504 PMCID: PMC10502761 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.14106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Staying ahead of the arms race against rust and mildew diseases in cereal crops is essential to maintain and preserve food security. The methodological challenges associated with conventional resistance breeding are major bottlenecks for deploying resistance (R) genes in high-yielding crop varieties. Advancements in our knowledge of plant genomes, structural mechanisms, innovations in bioinformatics, and improved plant transformation techniques have alleviated this bottleneck by permitting rapid gene isolation, functional studies, directed engineering of synthetic resistance and precise genome manipulation in elite crop cultivars. Most cloned cereal R genes encode canonical immune receptors which, on their own, are prone to being overcome through selection for resistance-evading pathogenic strains. However, the increasingly large repertoire of cloned R genes permits multi-gene stacking that, in principle, should provide longer-lasting resistance. This review discusses how these genomics-enabled developments are leading to new breeding and biotechnological opportunities to achieve durable rust and powdery mildew control in cereals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M. Dracatos
- La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture & Food (LISAF)Department of Animal, Plant and Soil SciencesLa Trobe UniversityVIC 3086Australia
| | - Jing Lu
- Plant Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Center for Desert AgricultureKAUSTThuwalSaudi Arabia
- College of Life SciencesSichuan UniversityChengduChina
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of SciencesChengduChina
| | - Javier Sánchez‐Martín
- Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Spanish‐Portuguese Agricultural Research Center (CIALE)University of SalamancaSalamancaSpain
| | - Brande B.H. Wulff
- Plant Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Center for Desert AgricultureKAUSTThuwalSaudi Arabia
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18
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Stuer N, Van Damme P, Goormachtig S, Van Dingenen J. Seeking the interspecies crosswalk for filamentous microbe effectors. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 28:1045-1059. [PMID: 37062674 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2023.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Both pathogenic and symbiotic microorganisms modulate the immune response and physiology of their host to establish a suitable niche. Key players in mediating colonization outcome are microbial effector proteins that act either inside (cytoplasmic) or outside (apoplastic) the plant cells and modify the abundance or activity of host macromolecules. We compile novel insights into the much-disputed processes of effector secretion and translocation of filamentous organisms, namely fungi and oomycetes. We report how recent studies that focus on unconventional secretion and effector structure challenge the long-standing image of effectors as conventionally secreted proteins that are translocated with the aid of primary amino acid sequence motifs. Furthermore, we emphasize the potential of diverse, unbiased, state-of-the-art proteomics approaches in the holistic characterization of fungal and oomycete effectomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Stuer
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Petra Van Damme
- iRIP Unit, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Karel Lodewijk Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sofie Goormachtig
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Judith Van Dingenen
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
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19
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Le Naour—Vernet M, Charriat F, Gracy J, Cros-Arteil S, Ravel S, Veillet F, Meusnier I, Padilla A, Kroj T, Cesari S, Gladieux P. Adaptive evolution in virulence effectors of the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011294. [PMID: 37695773 PMCID: PMC10513199 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant pathogens secrete proteins called effectors that target host cellular processes to promote disease. Recently, structural genomics has identified several families of fungal effectors that share a similar three-dimensional structure despite remarkably variable amino-acid sequences and surface properties. To explore the selective forces that underlie the sequence variability of structurally-analogous effectors, we focused on MAX effectors, a structural family of effectors that are major determinants of virulence in the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae. Using structure-informed gene annotation, we identified 58 to 78 MAX effector genes per genome in a set of 120 isolates representing seven host-associated lineages. The expression of MAX effector genes was primarily restricted to the early biotrophic phase of infection and strongly influenced by the host plant. Pangenome analyses of MAX effectors demonstrated extensive presence/absence polymorphism and identified gene loss events possibly involved in host range adaptation. However, gene knock-in experiments did not reveal a strong effect on virulence phenotypes suggesting that other evolutionary mechanisms are the main drivers of MAX effector losses. MAX effectors displayed high levels of standing variation and high rates of non-synonymous substitutions, pointing to widespread positive selection shaping the molecular diversity of MAX effectors. The combination of these analyses with structural data revealed that positive selection acts mostly on residues located in particular structural elements and at specific positions. By providing a comprehensive catalog of amino acid polymorphism, and by identifying the structural determinants of the sequence diversity, our work will inform future studies aimed at elucidating the function and mode of action of MAX effectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Le Naour—Vernet
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Florian Charriat
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Gracy
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Univ Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Sandrine Cros-Arteil
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Sébastien Ravel
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
- CIRAD, UMR PHIM, Montpellier, France
| | - Florian Veillet
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Isabelle Meusnier
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - André Padilla
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Univ Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Thomas Kroj
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Stella Cesari
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Pierre Gladieux
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, Univ Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France
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20
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Derbyshire MC, Raffaele S. Surface frustration re-patterning underlies the structural landscape and evolvability of fungal orphan candidate effectors. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5244. [PMID: 37640704 PMCID: PMC10462633 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40949-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogens secrete effector proteins to subvert host physiology and cause disease. Effectors are engaged in a molecular arms race with the host resulting in conflicting evolutionary constraints to manipulate host cells without triggering immune responses. The molecular mechanisms allowing effectors to be at the same time robust and evolvable remain largely enigmatic. Here, we show that 62 conserved structure-related families encompass the majority of fungal orphan effector candidates in the Pezizomycotina subphylum. These effectors diversified through changes in patterns of thermodynamic frustration at surface residues. The underlying mutations tended to increase the robustness of the overall effector protein structure while switching potential binding interfaces. This mechanism could explain how conserved effector families maintained biological activity over long evolutionary timespans in different host environments and provides a model for the emergence of sequence-unrelated effector families with conserved structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Derbyshire
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Sylvain Raffaele
- Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes Micro-organismes Environnement (LIPME), INRAE, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France.
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21
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Lahfa M, Mouhand A, de Guillen K, Barthe P, Kroj T, Padilla A, Roumestand C. Does a Similar 3D Structure Mean a Similar Folding Pathway? The Presence of a C-Terminal α-Helical Extension in the 3D Structure of MAX60 Drastically Changes the Folding Pathway Described for Other MAX-Effectors from Magnaporthe oryzae. Molecules 2023; 28:6068. [PMID: 37630320 PMCID: PMC10460046 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28166068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Does a similar 3D structure mean a similar folding pathway? This question is particularly meaningful when it concerns proteins sharing a similar 3D structure, but low sequence identity or homology. MAX effectors secreted by the phytopathogenic fungus Magnaporthe oryzae present such characteristics. They share a common 3D structure, a ß-sandwich with the same topology for all the family members, but an extremely low sequence identity/homology. In a previous study, we have investigated the folding of two MAX effectors, AVR-Pia and AVR-Pib, using High-Hydrostatic-Pressure NMR and found that they display a similar folding pathway, with a common folding intermediate. In the present work, we used a similar strategy to investigate the folding conformational landscape of another MAX effector, MAX60, and found a very different folding intermediate. Our analysis strongly supports that the presence of a C-terminal α-helical extension in the 3D structure of MAX60 could be responsible for its different folding pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mounia Lahfa
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
| | - Assia Mouhand
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
| | - Karine de Guillen
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
| | - Philippe Barthe
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
| | - Thomas Kroj
- PHIM Plant Health Institute, University of Montpellier, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - André Padilla
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
| | - Christian Roumestand
- Centre de Biologie Structurale, University of Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR 5048, 34090 Montpellier, France; (M.L.); (A.M.); (K.d.G.); (P.B.); (A.P.)
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Kumar R, Acharya V. Effector protein structures: a tale of evolutionary relationship. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 28:746-748. [PMID: 37127498 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2023.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Effector proteins are highly diverse, often lacking similarity in their protein sequences, making it challenging to determine their biological function. Using AlphaFold2 (AF2), Seong and Krasileva recently found that effector structures, but not sequences, share commonality. This helps further understanding of effector evolution across fungal species and reveals unique sequence-unrelated, structurally similar, effector families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kumar
- Functional Genomics and Complex System Lab, Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Vishal Acharya
- Functional Genomics and Complex System Lab, Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India.
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23
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Fernandez J. The Phantom Menace: latest findings on effector biology in the rice blast fungus. ABIOTECH 2023; 4:140-154. [PMID: 37581025 PMCID: PMC10423181 DOI: 10.1007/s42994-023-00099-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Magnaporthe oryzae is a hemibiotrophic fungus responsible for the economically devastating and recalcitrant rice blast disease. However, the blast fungus is not only restricted to rice plants as it can also infect wheat, millet, and other crops. Despite previous outstanding discoveries aimed to understand and control the disease, the fungus remains one of the most important pathogens that threatens global food security. To cause disease, M. oryzae initiates morphological changes to attach, penetrate, and colonize rice cells, all while suppressing plant immune defenses that would otherwise hinder its proliferation. As such, M. oryzae actively secretes a battery of small proteins called "effectors" to manipulate host machinery. In this review, we summarize the latest findings in effector identification, expression, regulation, and functionality. We review the most studied effectors and their roles in pathogenesis. Additionally, we discern the current methodologies to structurally catalog effectors, and we highlight the importance of climate change and its impact on the future of rice blast disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie Fernandez
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science at University of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
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24
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Wang J, Chen T, Tang Y, Zhang S, Xu M, Liu M, Zhang J, Loake GJ, Jiang J. The Biological Roles of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici Effectors during Infection of Wheat. Biomolecules 2023; 13:889. [PMID: 37371469 PMCID: PMC10296696 DOI: 10.3390/biom13060889] [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: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is the causative agent of wheat stripe rust, which can lead to a significant loss in annual wheat yields. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a deeper comprehension of the basic mechanisms underlying Pst infection. Effectors are known as the agents that plant pathogens deliver into host tissues to promote infection, typically by interfering with plant physiology and biochemistry. Insights into effector activity can significantly aid the development of future strategies to generate disease-resistant crops. However, the functional analysis of Pst effectors is still in its infancy, which hinders our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between Pst and wheat. In this review, we summarize the potential roles of validated and proposed Pst effectors during wheat infection, including proteinaceous effectors, non-coding RNAs (sRNA effectors), and secondary metabolites (SMs effectors). Further, we suggest specific countermeasures against Pst pathogenesis and future research directions, which may promote our understanding of Pst effector functions during wheat immunity attempts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjuan Wang
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Tongtong Chen
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Yawen Tang
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Sihan Zhang
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Mengyao Xu
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Meiyan Liu
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Gary J. Loake
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JH, UK
| | - Jihong Jiang
- School of Life Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
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25
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Laflamme B. Reeling in countless effectors (RICE): time-course transcriptomics of rice blast disease reveal an expanded effector repertoire for Magnaporthe oryzae. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:1290-1291. [PMID: 36780918 PMCID: PMC10118253 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
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26
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Yan X, Tang B, Ryder LS, MacLean D, Were VM, Eseola AB, Cruz-Mireles N, Ma W, Foster AJ, Osés-Ruiz M, Talbot NJ. The transcriptional landscape of plant infection by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae reveals distinct families of temporally co-regulated and structurally conserved effectors. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:1360-1385. [PMID: 36808541 PMCID: PMC10118281 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae causes a devastating disease that threatens global rice (Oryza sativa) production. Despite intense study, the biology of plant tissue invasion during blast disease remains poorly understood. Here we report a high-resolution transcriptional profiling study of the entire plant-associated development of the blast fungus. Our analysis revealed major temporal changes in fungal gene expression during plant infection. Pathogen gene expression could be classified into 10 modules of temporally co-expressed genes, providing evidence for the induction of pronounced shifts in primary and secondary metabolism, cell signaling, and transcriptional regulation. A set of 863 genes encoding secreted proteins are differentially expressed at specific stages of infection, and 546 genes named MEP (Magnaportheeffector protein) genes were predicted to encode effectors. Computational prediction of structurally related MEPs, including the MAX effector family, revealed their temporal co-regulation in the same co-expression modules. We characterized 32 MEP genes and demonstrate that Mep effectors are predominantly targeted to the cytoplasm of rice cells via the biotrophic interfacial complex and use a common unconventional secretory pathway. Taken together, our study reveals major changes in gene expression associated with blast disease and identifies a diverse repertoire of effectors critical for successful infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Yan
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Bozeng Tang
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Lauren S Ryder
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Dan MacLean
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Vincent M Were
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Alice Bisola Eseola
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Neftaly Cruz-Mireles
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Weibin Ma
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Andrew J Foster
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
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27
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Lovelace AH, Dorhmi S, Hulin MT, Li Y, Mansfield JW, Ma W. Effector Identification in Plant Pathogens. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2023; 113:637-650. [PMID: 37126080 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-09-22-0337-kd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Effectors play a central role in determining the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions. As key virulence proteins, effectors are collectively indispensable for disease development. By understanding the virulence mechanisms of effectors, fundamental knowledge of microbial pathogenesis and disease resistance have been revealed. Effectors are also considered double-edged swords because some of them activate immunity in disease resistant plants after being recognized by specific immune receptors, which evolved to monitor pathogen presence or activity. Characterization of effector recognition by their cognate immune receptors and the downstream immune signaling pathways is instrumental in implementing resistance. Over the past decades, substantial research effort has focused on effector biology, especially concerning their interactions with virulence targets or immune receptors in plant cells. A foundation of this research is robust identification of the effector repertoire from a given pathogen, which depends heavily on bioinformatic prediction. In this review, we summarize methodologies that have been used for effector mining in various microbial pathogens which use different effector delivery mechanisms. We also discuss current limitations and provide perspectives on how recently developed analytic tools and technologies may facilitate effector identification and hence generation of a more complete vision of host-pathogen interactions. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 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)
| | - Sara Dorhmi
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, NR4 7UH, U.K
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California Riverside, CA 92521, U.S.A
| | | | - Yufei Li
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, NR4 7UH, U.K
| | - John W Mansfield
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BX, U.K
| | - Wenbo Ma
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, NR4 7UH, U.K
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28
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Rozano L, Mukuka YM, Hane JK, Mancera RL. Ab Initio Modelling of the Structure of ToxA-like and MAX Fungal Effector Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076262. [PMID: 37047233 PMCID: PMC10094246 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic fungal diseases in crops are mediated by the release of effector proteins that facilitate infection. Characterising the structure of these fungal effectors is vital to understanding their virulence mechanisms and interactions with their hosts, which is crucial in the breeding of plant cultivars for disease resistance. Several effectors have been identified and validated experimentally; however, their lack of sequence conservation often impedes the identification and prediction of their structure using sequence similarity approaches. Structural similarity has, nonetheless, been observed within fungal effector protein families, creating interest in validating the use of computational methods to predict their tertiary structure from their sequence. We used Rosetta ab initio modelling to predict the structures of members of the ToxA-like and MAX effector families for which experimental structures are known to validate this method. An optimised approach was then used to predict the structures of phenotypically validated effectors lacking known structures. Rosetta was found to successfully predict the structure of fungal effectors in the ToxA-like and MAX families, as well as phenotypically validated but structurally unconfirmed effector sequences. Interestingly, potential new effector structural families were identified on the basis of comparisons with structural homologues and the identification of associated protein domains.
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29
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Joubert PM, Krasileva KV. Distinct genomic contexts predict gene presence-absence variation in different pathotypes of a fungal plant pathogen. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.17.529015. [PMID: 36824763 PMCID: PMC9949116 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.17.529015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
Background Fungi use the accessory segments of their pan-genomes to adapt to their environments. While gene presence-absence variation (PAV) contributes to shaping these accessory gene reservoirs, whether these events happen in specific genomic contexts remains unclear. Additionally, since pan-genome studies often group together all members of the same species, it is uncertain whether genomic or epigenomic features shaping pan-genome evolution are consistent across populations within the same species. Fungal plant pathogens are useful models for answering these questions because members of the same species often infect distinct hosts, and they frequently rely on gene PAV to adapt to these hosts. Results We analyzed gene PAV in the rice and wheat blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, and found that PAV of disease-causing effectors, antibiotic production, and non-self-recognition genes may drive the adaptation of the fungus to its environment. We then analyzed genomic and epigenomic features and data from available datasets for patterns that might help explain these PAV events. We observed that proximity to transposable elements (TEs), gene GC content, gene length, expression level in the host, and histone H3K27me3 marks were different between PAV genes and conserved genes, among other features. We used these features to construct a random forest classifier that was able to predict whether a gene is likely to experience PAV with high precision (86.06%) and recall (92.88%) in rice-infecting M. oryzae. Finally, we found that PAV in wheat- and rice-infecting pathotypes of M. oryzae differed in their number and their genomic context. Conclusions Our results suggest that genomic and epigenomic features of gene PAV can be used to better understand and even predict fungal pan-genome evolution. We also show that substantial intra-species variation can exist in these features.
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30
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Javed MA, Schwelm A, Zamani‐Noor N, Salih R, Silvestre Vañó M, Wu J, González García M, Heick TM, Luo C, Prakash P, Pérez‐López E. The clubroot pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae: A profile update. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2023; 24:89-106. [PMID: 36448235 PMCID: PMC9831288 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plasmodiophora brassicae is the causal agent of clubroot disease of cruciferous plants and one of the biggest threats to the rapeseed (Brassica napus) and brassica vegetable industry worldwide. DISEASE SYMPTOMS In the advanced stages of clubroot disease wilting, stunting, yellowing, and redness are visible in the shoots. However, the typical symptoms of the disease are the presence of club-shaped galls in the roots of susceptible hosts that block the absorption of water and nutrients. HOST RANGE Members of the family Brassicaceae are the primary host of the pathogen, although some members of the family, such as Bunias orientalis, Coronopus squamatus, and Raphanus sativus, have been identified as being consistently resistant to P. brassicae isolates with variable virulence profile. TAXONOMY Class: Phytomyxea; Order: Plasmodiophorales; Family: Plasmodiophoraceae; Genus: Plasmodiophora; Species: Plasmodiophora brassicae (Woronin, 1877). DISTRIBUTION Clubroot disease is spread worldwide, with reports from all continents except Antarctica. To date, clubroot disease has been reported in more than 80 countries. PATHOTYPING Based on its virulence on different hosts, P. brassicae is classified into pathotypes or races. Five main pathotyping systems have been developed to understand the relationship between P. brassicae and its hosts. Nowadays, the Canadian clubroot differential is extensively used in Canada and has so far identified 36 different pathotypes based on the response of a set of 13 hosts. EFFECTORS AND RESISTANCE After the identification and characterization of the clubroot pathogen SABATH-type methyltransferase PbBSMT, several other effectors have been characterized. However, no avirulence gene is known, hindering the functional characterization of the five intercellular nucleotide-binding (NB) site leucine-rich-repeat (LRR) receptors (NLRs) clubroot resistance genes validated to date. IMPORTANT LINK Canola Council of Canada is constantly updating information about clubroot and P. brassicae as part of their Canola Encyclopedia: https://www.canolacouncil.org/canola-encyclopedia/diseases/clubroot/. PHYTOSANITARY CATEGORIZATION PLADBR: EPPO A2 list; Annex designation 9E.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Asim Javed
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
| | - Arne Schwelm
- Department of Plant ScienceWageningen University and ResearchWageningenNetherlands
- Teagasc, Crops Research CentreCarlowIreland
| | - Nazanin Zamani‐Noor
- Julius Kühn‐Institute, Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and GrasslandBraunschweigGermany
| | - Rasha Salih
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
| | - Marina Silvestre Vañó
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
| | - Jiaxu Wu
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
| | - Melaine González García
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
| | | | - Chaoyu Luo
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- College of Agronomy and BiotechnologySouthwest UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Priyavashini Prakash
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- K. S. Rangasamy College of TechnologyNamakkalIndia
| | - Edel Pérez‐López
- Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentationUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Centre de recherche et d'innovation sur les végétauxUniversité LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
- Institute de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université LavalQuebec CityQuebecCanada
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Seong K, Krasileva KV. Prediction of effector protein structures from fungal phytopathogens enables evolutionary analyses. Nat Microbiol 2023; 8:174-187. [PMID: 36604508 PMCID: PMC9816061 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01287-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Elucidating the similarity and diversity of pathogen effectors is critical to understand their evolution across fungal phytopathogens. However, rapid divergence that diminishes sequence similarities between putatively homologous effectors has largely concealed the roots of effector evolution. Here we modelled the structures of 26,653 secreted proteins from 14 agriculturally important fungal phytopathogens, six non-pathogenic fungi and one oomycete with AlphaFold 2. With 18,000 successfully predicted folds, we performed structure-guided comparative analyses on two aspects of effector evolution: uniquely expanded sequence-unrelated structurally similar (SUSS) effector families and common folds present across the fungal species. Extreme expansion of lineage-specific SUSS effector families was found only in several obligate biotrophs, Blumeria graminis and Puccinia graminis. The highly expanded effector families were the source of conserved sequence motifs, such as the Y/F/WxC motif. We identified new classes of SUSS effector families that include known virulence factors, such as AvrSr35, AvrSr50 and Tin2. Structural comparisons revealed that the expanded structural folds further diversify through domain duplications and fusion with disordered stretches. Putatively sub- and neo-functionalized SUSS effectors could reconverge on regulation, expanding the functional pools of effectors in the pathogen infection cycle. We also found evidence that many effector families could have originated from ancestral folds conserved across fungi. Collectively, our study highlights diverse effector evolution mechanisms and supports divergent evolution as a major force in driving SUSS effector evolution from ancestral proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungyong Seong
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ksenia V Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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32
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Sugihara Y, Abe Y, Takagi H, Abe A, Shimizu M, Ito K, Kanzaki E, Oikawa K, Kourelis J, Langner T, Win J, Białas A, Lüdke D, Contreras MP, Chuma I, Saitoh H, Kobayashi M, Zheng S, Tosa Y, Banfield MJ, Kamoun S, Terauchi R, Fujisaki K. Disentangling the complex gene interaction networks between rice and the blast fungus identifies a new pathogen effector. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3001945. [PMID: 36656825 PMCID: PMC9851567 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies focused solely on single organisms can fail to identify the networks underlying host-pathogen gene-for-gene interactions. Here, we integrate genetic analyses of rice (Oryza sativa, host) and rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe oryzae, pathogen) and uncover a new pathogen recognition specificity of the rice nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein (NLR) immune receptor Pik, which mediates resistance to M. oryzae expressing the avirulence effector gene AVR-Pik. Rice Piks-1, encoded by an allele of Pik-1, recognizes a previously unidentified effector encoded by the M. oryzae avirulence gene AVR-Mgk1, which is found on a mini-chromosome. AVR-Mgk1 has no sequence similarity to known AVR-Pik effectors and is prone to deletion from the mini-chromosome mediated by repeated Inago2 retrotransposon sequences. AVR-Mgk1 is detected by Piks-1 and by other Pik-1 alleles known to recognize AVR-Pik effectors; recognition is mediated by AVR-Mgk1 binding to the integrated heavy metal-associated (HMA) domain of Piks-1 and other Pik-1 alleles. Our findings highlight how complex gene-for-gene interaction networks can be disentangled by applying forward genetics approaches simultaneously to the host and pathogen. We demonstrate dynamic coevolution between an NLR integrated domain and multiple families of effector proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sugihara
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
- Crop Evolution Laboratory, Kyoto University, Mozume, Muko, Kyoto, Japan
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Yoshiko Abe
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Hiroki Takagi
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Akira Abe
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Motoki Shimizu
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Kazue Ito
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Eiko Kanzaki
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Kaori Oikawa
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
| | - Jiorgos Kourelis
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Joe Win
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Aleksandra Białas
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Lüdke
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Izumi Chuma
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan
| | | | | | - Shuan Zheng
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
- Crop Evolution Laboratory, Kyoto University, Mozume, Muko, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yukio Tosa
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Mark J. Banfield
- Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
- Crop Evolution Laboratory, Kyoto University, Mozume, Muko, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Koki Fujisaki
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan
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Madina MH, Santhanam P, Asselin Y, Jaswal R, Bélanger RR. Progress and Challenges in Elucidating the Functional Role of Effectors in the Soybean- Phytophthora sojae Interaction. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 9:12. [PMID: 36675833 PMCID: PMC9866111 DOI: 10.3390/jof9010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytophthora sojae, the agent responsible for stem and root rot, is one of the most damaging plant pathogens of soybean. To establish a compatible-interaction, P. sojae secretes a wide array of effector proteins into the host cell. These effectors have been shown to act either in the apoplastic area or the cytoplasm of the cell to manipulate the host cellular processes in favor of the development of the pathogen. Deciphering effector-plant interactions is important for understanding the role of P. sojae effectors in disease progression and developing approaches to prevent infection. Here, we review the subcellular localization, the host proteins, and the processes associated with P. sojae effectors. We also discuss the emerging topic of effectors in the context of effector-resistance genes interaction, as well as model systems and recent developments in resources and techniques that may provide a better understanding of the soybean-P. sojae interaction.
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Bhowmick S, Jing T, Wang W, Zhang EY, Zhang F, Yang Y. In Silico Protein Folding Prediction of COVID-19 Mutations and Variants. Biomolecules 2022; 12:1665. [PMID: 36359015 PMCID: PMC9688002 DOI: 10.3390/biom12111665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
With its fast-paced mutagenesis, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has threatened many societies worldwide. Strategies for predicting mutagenesis such as the computational prediction of SARS-CoV-2 structural diversity and its interaction with the human receptor will greatly benefit our understanding of the virus and help develop therapeutics against it. We aim to use protein structure prediction algorithms along with molecular docking to study the effects of various mutations in the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 and its key interactions with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor. The RBD structures of the naturally occurring variants of SARS-CoV-2 were generated from the WUHAN-Hu-1 using the trRosetta algorithm. Docking (HADDOCK) and binding analysis (PRODIGY) between the predicted RBD sequences and ACE-2 highlighted key interactions at the Receptor-Binding Motif (RBM). Further mutagenesis at conserved residues in the Original, Delta, and Omicron variants (P499S and T500R) demonstrated stronger binding and interactions with the ACE-2 receptor. The predicted T500R mutation underwent some preliminary tests in vitro for its binding and transmissibility in cells; the results correlate with the in-silico analysis. In summary, we suggest conserved residues P499 and T500 as potential mutation sites that could increase the binding affinity and yet do not exist in nature. This work demonstrates the use of the trRosetta algorithm to predict protein structure and future mutations at the RBM of SARS-CoV-2, followed by experimental testing for further efficacy verification. It is important to understand the protein structure and folding to help develop potential therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Yanmin Yang
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, MSLS, P259, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Rocafort M, Bowen JK, Hassing B, Cox MP, McGreal B, de la Rosa S, Plummer KM, Bradshaw RE, Mesarich CH. The Venturia inaequalis effector repertoire is dominated by expanded families with predicted structural similarity, but unrelated sequence, to avirulence proteins from other plant-pathogenic fungi. BMC Biol 2022; 20:246. [PMID: 36329441 PMCID: PMC9632046 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01442-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Scab, caused by the biotrophic fungus Venturia inaequalis, is the most economically important disease of apples worldwide. During infection, V. inaequalis occupies the subcuticular environment, where it secretes virulence factors, termed effectors, to promote host colonization. Consistent with other plant-pathogenic fungi, many of these effectors are expected to be non-enzymatic proteins, some of which can be recognized by corresponding host resistance proteins to activate plant defences, thus acting as avirulence determinants. To develop durable control strategies against scab, a better understanding of the roles that these effector proteins play in promoting subcuticular growth by V. inaequalis, as well as in activating, suppressing, or circumventing resistance protein-mediated defences in apple, is required. RESULTS We generated the first comprehensive RNA-seq transcriptome of V. inaequalis during colonization of apple. Analysis of this transcriptome revealed five temporal waves of gene expression that peaked during early, mid, or mid-late infection. While the number of genes encoding secreted, non-enzymatic proteinaceous effector candidates (ECs) varied in each wave, most belonged to waves that peaked in expression during mid-late infection. Spectral clustering based on sequence similarity determined that the majority of ECs belonged to expanded protein families. To gain insights into function, the tertiary structures of ECs were predicted using AlphaFold2. Strikingly, despite an absence of sequence similarity, many ECs were predicted to have structural similarity to avirulence proteins from other plant-pathogenic fungi, including members of the MAX, LARS, ToxA and FOLD effector families. In addition, several other ECs, including an EC family with sequence similarity to the AvrLm6 avirulence effector from Leptosphaeria maculans, were predicted to adopt a KP6-like fold. Thus, proteins with a KP6-like fold represent another structural family of effectors shared among plant-pathogenic fungi. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals the transcriptomic profile underpinning subcuticular growth by V. inaequalis and provides an enriched list of ECs that can be investigated for roles in virulence and avirulence. Furthermore, our study supports the idea that numerous sequence-unrelated effectors across plant-pathogenic fungi share common structural folds. In doing so, our study gives weight to the hypothesis that many fungal effectors evolved from ancestral genes through duplication, followed by sequence diversification, to produce sequence-unrelated but structurally similar proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Rocafort
- Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology/Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand
| | - Joanna K Bowen
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mount Albert Research Centre, Auckland, 1025, New Zealand
| | - Berit Hassing
- Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology/Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand
| | - Murray P Cox
- Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand
| | - Brogan McGreal
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mount Albert Research Centre, Auckland, 1025, New Zealand
| | - Silvia de la Rosa
- Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology/Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand
| | - Kim M Plummer
- Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, La Trobe University, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBiosciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia
| | - Rosie E Bradshaw
- Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand
| | - Carl H Mesarich
- Laboratory of Molecular Plant Pathology/Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand.
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36
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Wilson RA, McDowell JM. Recent advances in understanding of fungal and oomycete effectors. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 68:102228. [PMID: 35605341 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Fungal and oomycete pathogens secrete complex arrays of proteins and small RNAs to interface with plant-host targets and manipulate plant regulatory networks to the microbes' advantage. Research on these important virulence factors has been accelerated by improved genome sequences, refined bioinformatic prediction tools, and exploitation of efficient platforms for understanding effector gene expression and function. Recent studies have validated the expectation that oomycetes and fungi target many of the same sectors in immune signaling networks, but the specific host plant targets and modes of action are diverse. Effector research has also contributed to deeper understanding of the mechanisms of effector-triggered immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Wilson
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - John M McDowell
- School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
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Zhao Y, Zhu X, Chen X, Zhou JM. From plant immunity to crop disease resistance. J Genet Genomics 2022; 49:693-703. [PMID: 35728759 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2022.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Plant diseases caused by diverse pathogens lead to serious reduction in crop yield and threaten food security worldwide. Genetic improvement of plant immunity is considered as the most effective and sustainable approach to control crop diseases. In the last decade, our understanding of plant immunity at both molecular and genomic levels has improved greatly. Combined with advances in biotechnologies, particularly CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, we can now rapidly identify new resistance genes and engineer disease resistance crop plants like never before. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of plant immunity and outline existing and new strategies for disease resistance improvement in crop plants. We also discuss existing challenges in this field and suggest directions for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaobo Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Sichuan Agricultural University at Wenjiang, Chengdu Sichuan 611130, China
| | - Xuewei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Sichuan Agricultural University at Wenjiang, Chengdu Sichuan 611130, China.
| | - Jian-Min Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, Hainai 572025, China.
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Outram MA, Figueroa M, Sperschneider J, Williams SJ, Dodds PN. Seeing is believing: Exploiting advances in structural biology to understand and engineer plant immunity. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 67:102210. [PMID: 35461025 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous plant pathogens cause disease in numerous economically important crops. These pathogens secrete virulence proteins, termed effectors, that modulate host cellular processes and promote infection. Plants have evolved immunity receptors that detect effectors and activate defence pathways, resulting in resistance to the invading pathogen. This leads to an evolutionary arms race between pathogen and host that is characterised by highly diverse effector repertoires in plant pathogens. Here, we review the recent advances in understanding host-pathogen co-evolution provided by the structural determination of effectors alone, and in complex with immunity receptors. We highlight the use of recent advances in structural prediction within this field and its role for future development of designer resistance proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan A Outram
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Melania Figueroa
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Jana Sperschneider
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Simon J Williams
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
| | - Peter N Dodds
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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Amobonye A, Singh S, Mukherjee K, Jobichen C, Qureshi IA, Pillai S. Structural and functional insights into fungal glutaminase using a computational approach. Process Biochem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2022.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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40
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Bentham AR, Petit-Houdenot Y, Win J, Chuma I, Terauchi R, Banfield MJ, Kamoun S, Langner T. A single amino acid polymorphism in a conserved effector of the multihost blast fungus pathogen expands host-target binding spectrum. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009957. [PMID: 34758051 PMCID: PMC8608293 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Accelerated gene evolution is a hallmark of pathogen adaptation and specialization following host-jumps. However, the molecular processes associated with adaptive evolution between host-specific lineages of a multihost plant pathogen remain poorly understood. In the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (Syn. Pyricularia oryzae), host specialization on different grass hosts is generally associated with dynamic patterns of gain and loss of virulence effector genes that tend to define the distinct genetic lineages of this pathogen. Here, we unravelled the biochemical and structural basis of adaptive evolution of APikL2, an exceptionally conserved paralog of the well-studied rice-lineage specific effector AVR-Pik. Whereas AVR-Pik and other members of the six-gene AVR-Pik family show specific patterns of presence/absence polymorphisms between grass-specific lineages of M. oryzae, APikL2 stands out by being ubiquitously present in all blast fungus lineages from 13 different host species. Using biochemical, biophysical and structural biology methods, we show that a single aspartate to asparagine polymorphism expands the binding spectrum of APikL2 to host proteins of the heavy-metal associated (HMA) domain family. This mutation maps to one of the APikL2-HMA binding interfaces and contributes to an altered hydrogen-bonding network. By combining phylogenetic ancestral reconstruction with an analysis of the structural consequences of allelic diversification, we revealed a common mechanism of effector specialization in the AVR-Pik/APikL2 family that involves two major HMA-binding interfaces. Together, our findings provide a detailed molecular evolution and structural biology framework for diversification and adaptation of a fungal pathogen effector family following host-jumps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam R. Bentham
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Yohann Petit-Houdenot
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR BIOGER, Thiverval-Grignon, France
| | - Joe Win
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Izumi Chuma
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Japan
| | - Mark J. Banfield
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
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Hunziker L, Tarallo M, Gough K, Guo M, Hargreaves C, Loo TS, McDougal RL, Mesarich CH, Bradshaw RE. Apoplastic effector candidates of a foliar forest pathogen trigger cell death in host and non-host plants. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19958. [PMID: 34620932 PMCID: PMC8497623 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99415-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Forests are under threat from pests, pathogens, and changing climate. A major forest pathogen worldwide is the hemibiotroph Dothistroma septosporum, which causes dothistroma needle blight (DNB) of pines. While D. septosporum uses effector proteins to facilitate host infection, it is currently unclear whether any of these effectors are recognised by immune receptors to activate the host immune system. Such information is needed to identify and select disease resistance against D. septosporum in pines. We predicted and investigated apoplastic D. septosporum candidate effectors (DsCEs) using bioinformatics and plant-based experiments. We discovered DsCEs that trigger cell death in the angiosperm Nicotiana spp., indicative of a hypersensitive defence response and suggesting their recognition by immune receptors in non-host plants. In a first for foliar forest pathogens, we developed a novel protein infiltration method to show that tissue-cultured pine shoots can respond with a cell death response to a DsCE, as well as to a reference cell death-inducing protein. The conservation of responses across plant taxa suggests that knowledge of pathogen-angiosperm interactions may also be relevant to pathogen-gymnosperm interactions. These results contribute to our understanding of forest pathogens and may ultimately provide clues to disease immunity in both commercial and natural forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Hunziker
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, 6102, Australia
| | - Mariana Tarallo
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand
| | - Keiko Gough
- Scion, New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, Rotorua, 3010, New Zealand
| | - Melissa Guo
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand
| | - Cathy Hargreaves
- Scion, New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, Rotorua, 3010, New Zealand
| | - Trevor S Loo
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca L McDougal
- Scion, New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, Rotorua, 3010, New Zealand
| | - Carl H Mesarich
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand
| | - Rosie E Bradshaw
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand.
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