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John E, Verdonk C, Singh KB, Oliver RP, Lenzo L, Morikawa S, Soyer JL, Muria-Gonzalez J, Soo D, Mousley C, Jacques S, Tan KC. Regulatory insight for a Zn2Cys6 transcription factor controlling effector-mediated virulence in a fungal pathogen of wheat. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012536. [PMID: 39312592 PMCID: PMC11419344 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012536] [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: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 08/27/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The regulation of virulence in plant-pathogenic fungi has emerged as a key area of importance underlying host infections. Recent work has highlighted individual transcription factors (TFs) that serve important roles. A prominent example is PnPf2, a member of the Zn2Cys6 family of fungal TFs, which controls the expression of effectors and other virulence-associated genes in Parastagonospora nodorum during infection of wheat. PnPf2 orthologues are similarly important for other major fungal pathogens during infection of their respective host plants, and have also been shown to control polysaccharide metabolism in model saprophytes. In each case, the direct genomic targets and associated regulatory mechanisms were unknown. Significant insight was made here by investigating PnPf2 through chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and mutagenesis approaches in P. nodorum. Two distinct binding motifs were characterised as positive regulatory elements and direct PnPf2 targets identified. These encompass known effectors and other components associated with the P. nodorum pathogenic lifestyle, such as carbohydrate-active enzymes and nutrient assimilators. The results support a direct involvement of PnPf2 in coordinating virulence on wheat. Other prominent PnPf2 targets included TF-encoding genes. While novel functions were observed for the TFs PnPro1, PnAda1, PnEbr1 and the carbon-catabolite repressor PnCreA, our investigation upheld PnPf2 as the predominant transcriptional regulator characterised in terms of direct and specific coordination of virulence on wheat, and provides important mechanistic insights that may be conserved for homologous TFs in other fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan John
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Callum Verdonk
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Karam B. Singh
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- Agriculture and Food, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Perth, Australia
| | - Richard P. Oliver
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Leon Lenzo
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Shota Morikawa
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Jessica L. Soyer
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UR BIOGER, Thiverval-Grignon, France
| | - Jordi Muria-Gonzalez
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Daniel Soo
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Carl Mousley
- Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Silke Jacques
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Kar-Chun Tan
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
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2
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Derbyshire MC, Raffaele S. Till death do us pair: Co-evolution of plant-necrotroph interactions. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 76:102457. [PMID: 37852141 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Plants use programmed cell death as a potent defense response against biotrophic pathogens that require living host cells to thrive. However, cell death can promote infection by necrotrophic pathogens. This discrepancy creates specific co-evolutionary dynamics in the interaction between plants and necrotrophs. Necrotrophic pathogens produce diverse cell death-inducing effectors that act redundantly on several plant targets and sometimes suppress plant immune responses as an additional function. Plants use surface receptors that recognize necrotrophic effectors to increase quantitative disease resistance, some of which evolved independently in several plant lineages. Co-evolution has shaped molecular mechanisms involved in plant-necrotroph interactions into robust systems, relying on degenerate and multifunctional modules, general-purpose components, and compartmentalized functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Derbyshire
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Sylvain Raffaele
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CNRS, Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes Micro-organismes Environnement (LIPME), 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France.
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Carreón-Anguiano KG, Gómez-Tah R, Pech-Balan E, Ek-Hernández GE, De los Santos-Briones C, Islas-Flores I, Canto-Canché B. Pseudocercospora fijiensis Conidial Germination Is Dominated by Pathogenicity Factors and Effectors. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:970. [PMID: 37888226 PMCID: PMC10607838 DOI: 10.3390/jof9100970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Conidia play a vital role in the survival and rapid spread of fungi. Many biological processes of conidia, such as adhesion, signal transduction, the regulation of oxidative stress, and autophagy, have been well studied. In contrast, the contribution of pathogenicity factors during the development of conidia in fungal phytopathogens has been poorly investigated. To date, few reports have centered on the pathogenicity functions of fungal phytopathogen conidia. Pseudocercospora fijiensis is a hemibiotrophic fungus and the causal agent of the black Sigatoka disease in bananas and plantains. Here, a conidial transcriptome of P. fijiensis was characterized computationally. Carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipid metabolisms presented the highest number of annotations in Gene Ontology. Common conidial functions were found, but interestingly, pathogenicity factors and effectors were also identified. Upon analysis of the resulting proteins against the Pathogen-Host Interaction (PHI) database, 754 hits were identified. WideEffHunter and EffHunter effector predictors identified 618 effectors, 265 of them were shared with the PHI database. A total of 1107 conidial functions devoted to pathogenesis were found after our analysis. Regarding the conidial effectorome, it was found to comprise 40 canonical and 578 non-canonical effectors. Effectorome characterization revealed that RXLR, LysM, and Y/F/WxC are the largest effector families in the P. fijiensis conidial effectorome. Gene Ontology classification suggests that they are involved in many biological processes and metabolisms, expanding our current knowledge of fungal effectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla Gisel Carreón-Anguiano
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
| | - Rufino Gómez-Tah
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
| | - Efren Pech-Balan
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
| | - Gemaly Elisama Ek-Hernández
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
| | - César De los Santos-Briones
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
| | - Ignacio Islas-Flores
- Unidad de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico;
| | - Blondy Canto-Canché
- Unidad de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida C.P. 97205, Yucatán, Mexico; (K.G.C.-A.); (R.G.-T.); (E.P.-B.); (G.E.E.-H.); (C.D.l.S.-B.)
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Cuzick A, Seager J, Wood V, Urban M, Rutherford K, Hammond-Kosack KE. A framework for community curation of interspecies interactions literature. eLife 2023; 12:e84658. [PMID: 37401199 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The quantity and complexity of data being generated and published in biology has increased substantially, but few methods exist for capturing knowledge about phenotypes derived from molecular interactions between diverse groups of species, in such a way that is amenable to data-driven biology and research. To improve access to this knowledge, we have constructed a framework for the curation of the scientific literature studying interspecies interactions, using data curated for the Pathogen-Host Interactions database (PHI-base) as a case study. The framework provides a curation tool, phenotype ontology, and controlled vocabularies to curate pathogen-host interaction data, at the level of the host, pathogen, strain, gene, and genotype. The concept of a multispecies genotype, the 'metagenotype,' is introduced to facilitate capturing changes in the disease-causing abilities of pathogens, and host resistance or susceptibility, observed by gene alterations. We report on this framework and describe PHI-Canto, a community curation tool for use by publication authors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alayne Cuzick
- Strategic area: Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom
| | - James Seager
- Strategic area: Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom
| | - Valerie Wood
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Urban
- Strategic area: Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom
| | - Kim Rutherford
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Kim E Hammond-Kosack
- Strategic area: Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom
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Rafiqi M, Jelonek L, Diouf AM, Mbaye A, Rep M, Diarra A. Profile of the in silico secretome of the palm dieback pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis, a fungus that puts natural oases at risk. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0260830. [PMID: 35617325 PMCID: PMC9135196 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding biotic changes that occur alongside climate change constitute a research priority of global significance. Here, we address a plant pathogen that poses a serious threat to life on natural oases, where climate change is already taking a toll and severely impacting human subsistence. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis is a pathogen that causes dieback disease on date palms, a tree that provides several critical ecosystem services in natural oases; and consequently, of major importance in this vulnerable habitat. Here, we assess the current state of global pathogen spread, we annotate the genome of a sequenced pathogen strain isolated from the native range and we analyse its in silico secretome. The palm dieback pathogen secretes a large arsenal of effector candidates including a variety of toxins, a distinguished profile of secreted in xylem proteins (SIX) as well as an expanded protein family with an N-terminal conserved motif [SG]PC[KR]P that could be involved in interactions with host membranes. Using agrobiodiversity as a strategy to decrease pathogen infectivity, while providing short term resilient solutions, seems to be widely overcome by the pathogen. Hence, the urgent need for future mechanistic research on the palm dieback disease and a better understanding of pathogen genetic diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Rafiqi
- Plant Pathology Program, Agrobiosciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - Lukas Jelonek
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Aliou Moussa Diouf
- Plant Pathology Program, Agrobiosciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - AbdouLahat Mbaye
- Plant Pathology Program, Agrobiosciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - Martijn Rep
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alhousseine Diarra
- Digital 4 Research Labs, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco
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