Vacuolar transporter Mnr2 safeguards organellar integrity in aged cells

Aging is associated with altered mitochondrial function, which is dependent on the magnesium (Mg⁺² ) ion flux. The molecular mechanism underlying Mg⁺² homeostasis, especially during aging has not been well understood. We previously demonstrated that the absence of a vacuolar ion transporter Mnr2 accelerates cell death in the older part of the colony in Magnaporthe oryzae presumably due to an altered Mg⁺² homeostasis. Here, we show the localization of Mnr2 as dynamic puncta at the vacuolar membrane, especially in the older Magnaporthe cells. Such vacuolar Mnr2 puncta are often localized in close proximity with the filamentous mitochondria in the older cells. Further, we show loss of integrity of mitochondria and vacuoles in older mnr2∆ null cells. Remarkably, exogenously added Mg⁺² restores the mitochondrial structure as well as improves the lifespan of mnr2∆ null cells. Taken together, we propose an ion transporter Mnr2-based Mg⁺² homeostasis as a means in preserving mitochondrial and vacuolar integrity and function in older M. oryzae cells.

Identification of Rice Blast Loss-of-Function Mutant Alleles in the Wheat Genome as a New Strategy for Wheat Blast Resistance Breeding

Blast is caused by the host-specific lineages of the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and is the most important destructive disease in major crop plants, including rice and wheat. The first wheat blast outbreak that occurred in Bangladesh in 2016 and the recent epidemic in Zambia were caused by the M. oryzae Triticum (MoT) pathotype, a fungal lineage belonging to M. oryzae. Although a few reported wheat cultivars show modest resistance to MoT, the patterns of genetic variation and diversity of this pathotype make it crucial to identify additional lines of resistant wheat germplasm. Nearly 40 rice blast resistant and susceptible genes have so far been cloned. Here, we used BLAST analysis to locate two rice blast susceptible genes in the wheat reference genome, bsr-d1 and bsr-k1, and identified six identical homologous genes located on subgenomes A, B, and D. We uncovered a total of 171 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced population, with mutation densities ranging from 1/1107.1 to 1/230.7 kb through Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) by sequencing. These included 81 SNPs located in exonic and promoter regions, and 13 coding alleles that are predicted to have severe effects on protein function, including two pre-mature mutants that might affect wheat blast resistance. The loss-of-function alleles identified in this study provide insights into new wheat blast resistant lines, which represent a valuable breeding resource.

Tandem DNA repeats contain cis-regulatory sequences that activate biotrophy-specific expression of Magnaporthe effector gene PWL2

During plant infection, fungi secrete effector proteins in coordination with distinct infection stages. Thus, the success of plant infection is determined by precise control of effector gene expression. We analysed the PWL2 effector gene of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae to understand how effector genes are activated specifically during the early biotrophic stages of rice infection. Here, we used confocal live-cell imaging of M. oryzae transformants with various PWL2 promoter fragments fused to sensitive green fluorescent protein reporter genes to determine the expression patterns of PWL2 at the cellular level, together with quantitative reverse transcription PCR analyses at the tissue level. We found PWL2 expression was coupled with sequential biotrophic invasion of rice cells. PWL2 expression was induced in the appressorium upon penetration into a living rice cell but greatly declined in the highly branched hyphae when the first-invaded rice cell was dead. PWL2 expression then increased again as the hyphae penetrate into living adjacent cells. The expression of PWL2 required fungal penetration into living plant cells of either host rice or nonhost onion. Deletion and mutagenesis experiments further revealed that the tandem repeats in the PWL2 promoter contain 12-base pair sequences required for expression. We conclude that PWL2 expression is (a) activated by an unknown signal commonly present in living plant cells, (b) specific to biotrophic stages of fungal infection, and (c) requires 12-base pair cis-regulatory sequences in the promoter.

Structural Investigation and Molecular Modeling Studies of Strobilurin-Based Fungicides Active against the Rice Blast Pathogen Pyricularia oryzae

The increasing emergence of fungicide-resistant pathogens requires urgent solutions for crop disease management. Here, we describe a structural investigation of new fungicides obtained by combining strobilurin and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor pharmacophores. We identified compounds endowed with very good activity against wild-type Pyricularia oryzae, combined in some cases with promising activity against strobilurin-resistant strains. The first three-dimensional model of P. oryzae cytochrome bc1 complex containing azoxystrobin as a ligand was developed. The model was validated with a set of commercially available strobilurins, and it well explains both the resistance mechanism to strobilurins mediated by the mutation G143A and the activity of metyltetraprole against strobilurin-resistant strains. The obtained results shed light on the key recognition determinants of strobilurin-like derivatives in the cytochrome bc1 active site and will guide the further rational design of new fungicides able to overcome resistance caused by G143A mutation in the rice blast pathogen.

Dynamics of the Rice Blast Fungal Population in the Field After Deployment of an Improved Rice Variety Containing Known Resistance Genes

Rice blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most destructive diseases of rice worldwide. Management through the deployment of host resistance genes would be facilitated by understanding the dynamics of the pathogen's population in the field. Here, to investigate the mechanism underlying the breakdown of disease resistance, we conducted a six-year field experiment to monitor the evolution of M. oryzae populations in Qujiang from Guangdong. The new variety of Xin-Yin-Zhan (XYZ) carrying R genes Pi50 and Pib was developed using the susceptible elite variety, Ma-Ba-Yin-Zhan (MBYZ), as the recurrent line. Field trials of disease resistance assessment revealed that the disease indices of XYZ in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017 were 0.19, 0.39, 0.70, and 0.90, respectively, indicating that XYZ displayed a very rapid increase of disease severity in the field. To investigate the mechanism underlying the quick erosion of resistance of XYZ, we collected isolates from both XYZ and MBYZ for pathogenicity testing against six different isogenic lines. The isolates collected from XYZ showed a similar virulence spectrum across four different years whereas those from MBYZ showed increasing virulence to the Pi50 and Pib isogenic lines from 2012 to 2017. Molecular analysis of AvrPib in the isolates from MBYZ identified four different AvrPib haplotypes, i.e., AvrPib-AP1-1, AvrPib-AP1-2, avrPib-AP2, and avrPib-AP3, verified by sequencing. AvrPib-AP1-1 and AvrPib-AP1-2 are avirulent to Pib whereas avrPib-AP2 and avrPib-AP3 are virulent. Insertions of a Pot3 and an Mg-SINE were identified in avrPib-AP2 and avrPib-AP3, respectively. Two major lineages based on rep-PCR analysis were further deduced in the field population, implying that the field population is composed of genetically related isolates. Our data suggest that clonal propagation and quick dominance of virulent isolates against the previously resistant variety could be the major genetic events contributing to the loss of varietal resistance against rice blast in the field.

Development of 'multiresistance rice' by an assembly of herbicide, insect and disease resistance genes with a transgene stacking system

BACKGROUND

Weeds, diseases and pests pose serious threats to rice production and cause significant economic losses. Cultivation of rice varieties with resistance to herbicides, diseases and pests is believed to be the most economical and environmentally friendly method to deal with these problems.

RESULTS

In this study, a highly efficient transgene stacking system was used to assembly the synthetic glyphosate-tolerance gene (I. variabilis-EPSPS*), lepidopteran pest resistance gene (Cry1C*), brown planthopper resistance genes (Bph14* and OsLecRK1*), bacterial blight resistance gene (Xa23*) and rice blast resistance gene (Pi9*) onto a transformable artificial chromosome vector. The construct was transferred into ZH11 (a widely used japonica rice cultivar Zhonghua 11) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and 'multiresistance rice' (MRR) with desirable agronomic traits was obtained. The results showed that MRR had significantly improved resistance to glyphosate, borers, brown planthopper, bacterial blight and rice blast relative to the recipient cultivar ZH11. Besides, under the natural occurrence of pests and diseases in the field, the yield of MRR was significantly higher than that of ZH11.

CONCLUSION

A multigene transformation strategy was employed to successfully develop rice lines with multiresistance to glyphosate, borers, brown planthopper, bacterial blight and rice blast, and the obtained MRR is expected to have great application potential. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Role of Two Metacaspases in Development and Pathogenicity of the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

Magnaporthe oryzae causes rice blast disease that threatens global food security by resulting in the severe loss of rice production every year. A tightly regulated life cycle allows M. oryzae to disarm the host plant immune system during its biotrophic stage before triggering plant cell death in its necrotrophic stage.

Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is a devastating disease of cultivated rice worldwide. Infections by this fungus lead to a significant reduction in rice yields and threats to food security. To gain better insight into growth and cell death in M. oryzae during infection, we characterized two predicted M. oryzae metacaspase proteins, MoMca1 and MoMca2. These proteins appear to be functionally redundant and can complement the yeast Yca1 homologue. Biochemical analysis revealed that M. oryzae metacaspases exhibited Ca²⁺-dependent caspase activity in vitro. Deletion of both MoMca1 and MoMca2 in M. oryzae resulted in reduced sporulation, delay in conidial germination, and attenuation of disease severity. In addition, the double ΔMomca1mca2 mutant strain showed increased radial growth in the presence of oxidative stress. Interestingly, the ΔMomca1mca2 strain showed an increased accumulation of insoluble aggregates compared to the wild-type strain during vegetative growth. Our findings suggest that MoMca1 and MoMca2 promote the clearance of insoluble aggregates in M. oryzae, demonstrating the important role these metacaspases have in fungal protein homeostasis. Furthermore, these metacaspase proteins may play additional roles, like in regulating stress responses, that would help maintain the fitness of fungal cells required for host infection.

Evolutionary Understanding of Metacaspase Genes in Cultivated and Wild Oryza Species and Its Role in Disease Resistance Mechanism in Rice

Metacaspases (MCs), a class of cysteine-dependent proteases found in plants, fungi, and protozoa, are predominately involved in programmed cell death processes. In this study, we identified metacaspase genes in cultivated and wild rice species. Characterization of metacaspase genes identified both in cultivated subspecies of Oryza sativa, japonica, and indica and in nine wild rice species was performed. Extensive computational analysis was conducted to understand gene structures, phylogenetic relationships, cis-regulatory elements, expression patterns, and haplotypic variations. Further, the haplotyping study of metacaspase genes was conducted using the whole-genome resequencing data publicly available for 4726 diverse genotype and in-house resequencing data generated for north-east Indian rice lines. Sequence variations observed among wild and cultivated rice species for metacaspase genes were used to understand the duplication and neofunctionalization events. The expression profiles of metacaspase genes were analyzed using RNA-seq transcriptome profiling in rice during different developmental stages and stress conditions. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of candidate metacaspase genes in rice cultivars Pusa Basmati-1 in response to Magnaporthe oryzae infection indicated a significant role in the disease resistance mechanism. The information provided here will help to understand the evolution of metacaspases and their role under stress conditions in rice.

Identification and application of the Pigm-1 gene in rice disease resistance breeding

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most destructive diseases of rice worldwide. The identification and utilization of resistance genes are crucial and significant for breeding resistant rice cultivars. We identified a resistance gene from Shuangkang77009, which is highly resistant to the rice blast isolate Guy11 using map-based cloning. We performed bulked segregant analysis combined with specific length amplified fragment sequencing. We also performed association analysis, candidate gene prediction and cDNA sequencing to identify the candidate gene. The resistance gene is located on chromosome 6, and we ultimately mapped the resistance locus to a 92-kb region. The resistance gene in Shuangkang77009 was allelic to PigmR, hereafter referred to as Pigm-1. The Pigm-1 protein had one amino acid change: serine (Ser) residue 860 was replaced by tyrosine (Tyr) in Pigm-1 compared with the previously identified Pigm protein, which significantly changed the structure of the Pigm-1 protein based on 3-D structure simulation. In addition, using the developed molecular marker linked to the Pigm-1 gene and molecular marker-assisted selection technology, we introduced the Pigm-1 gene into Minghui86, a widely used and excellent restorer. We generated 11 stable homozygous rice lines with desirable agronomic traits and strong resistance to rice blast. In conclusion, Pigm-1, a natural allelic variant of PigmR, was responsible for blast resistance in Shuangkang77009 rice. The molecular marker-assisted breeding strategy for Pigm-1 was highly efficient.

Population Structure of Double-Stranded RNA Mycoviruses That Infect the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae in Japan

Various viruses infect Magnaporthe oryzae (syn. Pyricularia oryzae), which is a well-studied fungus that causes rice blast disease. Most research has focused on the discovery of new viruses and the hypovirulence-associated traits conferred by them. Therefore, the diversity and prevalence of viruses in wild fungal populations have not been explored. We conducted a comprehensive screening of M. oryzae mycoviruses from various regions in Japan using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) electrophoresis and RT-PCR assays. We detected three mycoviruses, Magnaporthe oryzae virus 2 (MoV2), Magnaporthe oryzae chrysovirus 1 (MoCV1), and Magnaporthe oryzae partitivirus 1 (MoPV1), among 127 of the 194 M. oryzae strains screened. The most prevalent virus was MoPV1 (58.8%), which often co-infected in a single fungal strain together with MoV2 or MoCV1. MoV2 and MoCV1 were found in 22.7 and 10.8% of strains, respectively, and they were usually distributed in different regions so that mixed-infection with these two mycoviruses was extremely rare. The predominance of MoPV1 in M. oryzae is supported by significant negative values from neutrality tests, which indicate that the population size of MoPV1 tends to increase. Population genetic analyses revealed high nucleotide diversity and the presence of phylogenetically diverse subpopulations among the MoV2 isolates. This was not the case for MoPV1. Furthermore, studies of a virus-cured M. oryzae strain revealed that MoV2 does not cause any abnormalities or symptoms in its host. However, a leaf sheath inoculation assay showed that its presence slightly increased the speed of mycelial growth, compared with virus-free mycelia. These results demonstrate that M. oryzae in Japan harbors diverse dsRNA mycovirus communities with wide variations in their population structures among different viruses.

Comparative Pathogenicity and Host Ranges of Magnaporthe oryzae and Related Species

Host shifting and host expansion of fungal plant pathogens increases the rate of emergence of new pathogens and the incidence of disease in various crops, which threaten global food security. Magnaporthe species cause serious disease in rice, namely rice blast disease, as well as in many alternative hosts, including wheat, barley, and millet. A severe outbreak of wheat blast due to Magnaporthe oryzae occurred recently in Bangladesh, after the fungus was introduced from South America, causing great loss of yield. This outbreak of wheat blast is of growing concern, because it might spread to adjacent wheat-producing areas. Therefore, it is important to understand the host range and population structure of M. oryzae and related species for determining the evolutionary relationships among Magnaporthe species and for managing blast disease in the field. Here, we collected isolates of M. oryzae and related species from various Poaceae species, including crops and weeds surrounding rice fields, in Korea and determined their phylogenetic relationships and host species specificity. Internal transcribed spacer-mediated phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. oryzae and related species are classified into four groups primarily including isolates from rice, crabgrass, millet and tall fescue. Based on pathogenicity assays, M. oryzae and related species can infect different Poaceae hosts and move among hosts, suggesting the potential for host shifting and host expansion in nature. These results provide important information on the diversification of M. oryzae and related species with a broad range of Poaceae as hosts in crop fields.

New insights into bsr-d1-mediated broad-spectrum resistance to rice blast

bsr-d1, an allele encoding a transcription factor identified from the rice cultivar Digu, confers durable, broad-spectrum resistance to infections by strains of Magnaporthe oryzae. bsr-d1 was predicted to inhibit M. oryzae-induced expression of Bsr-d1 RNA and degradation of hydrogen peroxide to achieve resistance to M. oryzae. However, the global effect of biological process and molecular function on blast resistance mediated by Bsr-d1 remains unknown. In this study, we compared transcriptomic profiling between Bsr-d1 knockout (Bsr-d1KO) lines and the wild type, TP309. Our study revealed that bsr-d1 mainly regulates the redox state of plant cells, but also affects amino acid and unsaturated fatty acid metabolism. We further found that BSR-D1 indirectly regulates salicylic acid biosynthesis, metabolism, and signal transduction downstream of the activation of H₂ O₂ signalling in the bsr-d1-mediated immune response. Furthermore, we identified a novel peroxidase-encoding gene, Perox3, as a new BSR-D1 target gene that reduces resistance to M. oryzae when overexpressed in TP309. These results provide new insights into the bsr-d1-mediated blast resistance.

Screening and Application of Bacillus Strains Isolated from Nonrhizospheric Rice Soil for the Biocontrol of Rice Blast

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most destructive rice diseases worldwide. The aim of this study was to screen bacterial isolates to efficiently prevent the occurrence of rice blast. A total of 232 bacterial isolates were extracted from nonrhizospheric rice soil and were screened for antifungal activity against M. oryzae using a leaf segment assay. Strains S170 and S9 showed significant antagonistic activity against M. oryzae in vitro and in leaf disk assays, and controlled M. oryzae infection under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that strains S170 and S9 could effectively control rice leaf blast and panicle neck blast after five spray treatments in field. This suggested that the bacterial strains S170 and S9 were valuable and promising for the biocontrol of rice disease caused by M. oryzae. Based on 16S rDNA, and gyrA and gyrB gene sequence analyses, S170 and S9 were identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. pumilus, respectively. The research also demonstrated that B. amyloliquefaciens S170 and B. pumilus S9 could colonize rice plants to prevent pathogenic infection and evidently suppressed plant disease caused by 11 other plant pathogenic fungi. This is the first study to demonstrate that B. amyloliquefaciens and B. pumilus isolated from nonrhizospheric rice soil are capable of recolonizing internal rice stem tissues.

Genome-wide association study identifies an NLR gene that confers partial resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae in rice

Because of the frequent breakdown of major resistance (R) genes, identification of new partial R genes against rice blast disease is an important goal of rice breeding. In this study, we used a core collection of the Rice Diversity Panel II (C-RDP-II), which contains 584 rice accessions and are genotyped with 700 000 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The C-RDP-II accessions were inoculated with three blast strains collected from different rice-growing regions in China. Genome-wide association study identified 27 loci associated with rice blast resistance (LABRs). Among them, 22 LABRs were not associated with any known blast R genes or QTLs. Interestingly, a nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NLR) gene cluster exists in the LABR12 region on chromosome 4. One of the NLR genes is highly conserved in multiple partially resistant rice cultivars, and its expression is significantly up-regulated at the early stages of rice blast infection. Knockout of this gene via CRISPR-Cas9 in transgenic plants partially reduced blast resistance to four blast strains. The identification of this new non-strain specific partial R gene, tentatively named rice blast Partial Resistance gene 1 (PiPR1), provides genetic material that will be useful for understanding the partial resistance mechanism and for breeding durably resistant cultivars against blast disease of rice.

Terminating rice innate immunity induction requires a network of antagonistic and redox-responsive E3 ubiquitin ligases targeting a fungal sirtuin

Fungal phytopathogens can suppress plant immune mechanisms in order to colonize living host cells. Identifying all the molecular components involved is critical for elaborating a detailed systems-level model of plant infection probing pathogen weaknesses; yet, the hierarchy of molecular events controlling fungal responses to the plant cell is not clear. Here we show how, in the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, terminating rice innate immunity requires a dynamic network of redox-responsive E3 ubiquitin ligases targeting fungal sirtuin 2 (Sir2), an antioxidation regulator required for suppressing the host oxidative burst. Immunoblotting, immunopurification, mass spectrometry and gene functional analyses showed that Sir2 levels responded to oxidative stress via a mechanism involving ubiquitination and three antagonistic E3 ubiquitin ligases: Grr1 and Ptr1 maintained basal Sir2 levels in the absence of oxidative stress; Upl3 facilitated Sir2 accumulation in response to oxidative stress. Grr1 and Upl3 interacted directly with Sir2 in a manner that decreased and scaled with oxidative stress, respectively. Deleting UPL3 depleted Sir2 during growth in rice cells, triggering host immunity and preventing infection. Overexpressing SIR2 in the Δupl3 mutant remediated pathogenicity. Our work reveals how redox-responsive E3 ubiquitin ligases in M. oryzae mediate Sir2 accumulation-dependent antioxidation to modulate plant innate immunity and host susceptibility.

Morphological Characterization and Genetic Diversity of Rice Blast Fungus, Pyricularia oryzae, from Thailand Using ISSR and SRAP Markers

Rice blast disease is caused by the ascomycete fungus Pyricularia oryzae and is one of the most destructive rice diseases in the world. The objectives of this study were investigating various fungal morphological characteristics and performing a phylogenetic analysis. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to examine the genetic variation of 59 rice blast fungus strains, including 57 strains collected from different fields in Thailand and two reference strains, 70-15 and Guy11. All isolates used in this study were determined to be P. oryzae by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence confirmation. A total of 14 ISSR primers and 17 pairs of SRAP primers, which produced clear and polymorphic bands, were selected for assessing genetic diversity. A total of 123 polymorphic bands were generated. The similarity index value for the strains ranged from 0.25 to 0.95. The results showed that the blast fungus population in Thailand has both morphological and genetic variations. A high level of genetic variation, or genome adaptation, is one of the fungal mechanisms that could overcome host resistance to avoid host recognition. Results from this research study could bring substantial benefits and ultimately help to understand the blast fungal pathogen genome and the population structure in Thai blast fungus.

Responses of Leaf Cuticles to Rice Blast: Detection and Identification Using Depth-Profiling Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Cuticle is the first barrier for rice to resist blast fungus on the surface of the leaf. Studies on how the rice leaf cuticle responds to rice blast and attempts to perform early detection of rice blast are limited, and these two issues were explored in this study via depth-profiling Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). Rice leaves with four different scales of injury (healthy leaves as CK, asymptomatic leaves from mildly diseased seedlings as S1, infected leaves with fewer than five lesions as S2, and infected leaves with more than 10 lesions as S3) were scanned by three moving mirror velocities 0.32, 0.47, and 0.63 cm/s for the depth profiling of the rice leaf surface. The response patterns were acquired via chemometrics to analyze the variations of the chemical group absorptions in the different layers of a sample and in the same layer between different samples. Results showed that the leaf cuticle tended to be thicker and the relative content of fatty alcohols and cutin, unsaturated compounds, and aromatics in the cuticle increased when rice seedlings were infected by blast fungus. Together with the principal component analysis, the probabilistic neural network was applied to identify the samples in early stages (CK and S1), which reached an accuracy of 90% for the samples in the greenhouse and 82% for the samples in the field. Thus, depth-profiling FTIR-PAS was good at analyzing the variation in cuticle layers and showed great potential in the early detection of rice blast or other diseases in different species.

A Rapid Survey of Avirulence Genes in Field Isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae

Magnaporthe oryzae is the causal agent for the devastating disease rice blast. The avirulence (AVR) genes in M. oryzae are required to initiate robust disease resistance mediated by the corresponding resistance (R) genes in rice. Therefore, monitoring pathogen AVR genes is important to predict the stability of R gene-mediated blast resistance. In the present study, we analyzed the DNA sequence dynamics of five AVR genes, namely, AVR-Pita1, AVR-Pik, AVR-Pizt, AVR-Pia, and AVR-Pii, in field isolates of M. oryzae in order to understand the effectiveness of the R genes, Pi-ta, Pi-k, Pi-zt, Pia, and Pii in the Southern U.S. rice growing region. Genomic DNA of 258 blast isolates collected from commercial fields of the Southern UNITED STATES during 1975-2009 were subjected to PCR amplification with AVR gene-specific PCR markers. PCR products were obtained from 232 isolates. The absence of PCR products in the remaining 26 isolates suggests that these isolates do not contain the tested AVR genes. Amplified PCR products were subsequently gel purified and sequenced. Based on the presence or absence of the five AVR genes, 232 field isolates were classified into 10 haplotype groups. The results revealed that 174 isolates of M. oryzae carried AVR-Pita1, 225 isolates carried AVR-Pizt, 44 isolates carried AVR-Pik, 3 isolates carried AVR-Pia, and one isolate carried AVR-Pii. AVR-Pita1 was highly variable, and 40 AVR-Pita1 haplotypes were identified in avirulent isolates. AVR-Pik had four nucleotide sequence site changes resulting in amino acid substitutions, whereas three other AVR genes, AVR-Pizt, AVR-Pia, and AVR-Pii, were relatively stable. Two AVR genes, AVR-Pik and AVR-Pizt, were found to exist in relatively larger proportions of the tested field isolates, which suggested that their corresponding R genes Pi-k and Pi-zt can be deployed in preventing blast disease in the Southern UNITED STATES in addition to Pi-ta. This study demonstrates that continued AVR gene monitoring in the pathogen population is critical for ensuring the effectiveness of deployed blast R genes in commercial rice fields.

A nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat receptor pair confers broad-spectrum disease resistance through physical association in rice

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is the most destructive fungal disease in crops, greatly threatening rice production and food security worldwide. The identification and utilization of broad-spectrum resistance genes are considered to be the most economic and effective method to control the disease. In the past decade, many blast resistance ( R) genes have been identified, which mainly encode nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptor family and confer limited race-specific resistance to the fungal pathogen. Resistance genes conferring broad-spectrum blast resistance are still largely lacking. In this study, we carried out a map-based cloning of the new blast R locus Pizh in variety ZH11. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone of 165 kb spanning the Pizh locus was sequenced and identified 9 NLR genes, among which only Pizh-1 and Pizh-2 were expressed. Genetic complementation experiments indicated that Pizh-1 but not Pizh-2 alone could confer blast resistance. Intriguingly, both mutations on Pizh-1 and Pizh-2 by CRISPR-Cas9 abolished the Pizh-mediated resistance. We also observed that Pizh-1-mediated resistance was partially dependent on Pizh-2. Pizh-1 and Pizh-2 form a complex of NLRs through direct interaction. This suggests that Pizh-1 may function as the executor NLR and Pizh-2 as a 'helper' NLR that shares functional redundancy with other NLRs. Our current study provides not only a good tool for rice disease resistance breeding but also deep insight into NLR association and function in plant immunity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biotic signalling sheds light on smart pest management'.

Genetic evidence for Magnaporthe oryzae vitamin B3 acquisition from rice cells

Following penetration, the devastating rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, like some other important eukaryotic phytopathogens, grows in intimate contact with living plant cells before causing disease. Cell-to-cell growth during this biotrophic growth stage must involve nutrient acquisition, but experimental evidence for the internalization and metabolism of host-derived compounds is exceedingly sparse. This striking gap in our knowledge of the infection process undermines accurate conceptualization of the plant-fungal interaction. Here, through our general interest in Magnaporthe metabolism and with a specific focus on the signalling and redox cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), we deleted the M. oryzae QPT1 gene encoding quinolinate phosphoribosyltransferase, catalyst of the last step in de novo NAD biosynthesis from tryptophan. We show how QPT1 is essential for axenic growth on minimal media lacking nicotinic acid (NA, an importable NAD precursor). However, Δqpt1 mutant strains were fully pathogenic, indicating de novo NAD biosynthesis is dispensable for lesion expansion following invasive hyphal growth in leaf tissue. Because overcoming the loss of de novo NAD biosynthesis in planta can only occur if importable NAD precursors (which solely comprise the NA, nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside forms of vitamin B3) are accessible, we unexpectedly but unequivocally demonstrate that vitamin B3 can be acquired from the host and assimilated into Magnaporthe metabolism during growth in rice cells. Our results furnish a rare, experimentally determined example of host nutrient acquisition by a fungal plant pathogen and are significant in expanding our knowledge of events at the plant-fungus metabolic interface.

A PAS-Containing Histidine Kinase is Required for Conidiation, Appressorium Formation, and Disease Development in the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae

Rice blast disease, caused by the ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most important diseases in rice production. PAS (period circadian protein, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator protein, single-minded protein) domains are known to be involved in signal transduction pathways, but their functional roles have not been well studied in fungi. In this study, targeted gene deletion was carried out to investigate the functional roles of the PAS-containing gene MoPAS1 (MGG_02665) in M. oryzae. The deletion mutant ΔMopas1 exhibited easily wettable mycelia, reduced conidiation, and defects in appressorium formation and disease development compared to the wild type and complemented transformant. Exogenous cAMP restored appressorium formation in ΔMopas1, but the shape of the restored appressorium was irregular, indicating that MoPAS1 is involved in sensing the hydrophobic surface. To examine the expression and localization of MoPAS1 in M. oryzae during appressorium development and plant infection, we constructed a MoPAS1:GFP fusion construct. MoPAS1:GFP was observed in conidia and germ tubes at 0 and 2 h post-infection (hpi) on hydrophobic cover slips. By 8 hpi, most of the GFP signal was observed in the appressoria. During invasive growth in host cells, MoPAS1:GFP was found to be fully expressed in not only the appressoria but also invasive hyphae, suggesting that MoPAS may contribute to disease development in host cells. These results expand our knowledge of the roles of PAS-containing regulatory genes in the plant-pathogenic fungus M. oryzae.

A MYST family histone acetyltransferase, MoSAS3, is required for development and pathogenicity in the rice blast fungus

Histone acetylation has been established as a principal epigenetic regulatory mechanism in eukaryotes. Sas3, a histone acetyltransferase belonging to the largest family of acetyltransferase, MYST, is the catalytic subunit of a conserved histone acetyltransferase complex. To date, the functions of Sas3 and its orthologues have been extensively studied in yeast, humans and flies in relation to global acetylation and transcriptional regulation. However, its precise impact on development and pathogenicity in fungal plant pathogens has yet to be elucidated. Considering the importance of Sas3 in H3K14 acetylation, here we investigate the roles of its orthologue in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae (Pyricularia oryzae). Unlike a previously reported Sas3 deletion in yeast, which led to no remarkable phenotypic changes, we found that MoSAS3 deletion alone had a profound effect on fungal growth and development, including asexual reproduction, germination and appressorium formation in M. oryzae. Such defects in pre-penetration development resulted in complete loss of pathogenicity in the deletion mutant. Furthermore, genetic analysis of MoSAS3 and MoGCN5 encoding a Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase family histone acetyltransferase suggested that two conserved components of histone acetylation are integrated differently into epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in the yeast and a filamentous fungus. RNA-seq analysis of ΔMosas3 showed two general trends: many DNA repair and DNA damage response genes are up-regulated, while carbon and nitrogen metabolism genes are down-regulated in ΔMosas3. Our work demonstrates the importance of MYST family histone acetyltransferase as a developmental regulator and illuminates a degree of functional variation in conserved catalytic subunits among different fungal species.

Protein engineering expands the effector recognition profile of a rice NLR immune receptor

Plant nucleotide binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors detect pathogen effectors and initiate an immune response. Since their discovery, NLRs have been the focus of protein engineering to improve disease resistance. However, this approach has proven challenging, in part due to their narrow response specificity. Previously, we revealed the structural basis of pathogen recognition by the integrated heavy metal associated (HMA) domain of the rice NLR Pikp (Maqbool et al., 2015). Here, we used structure-guided engineering to expand the response profile of Pikp to variants of the rice blast pathogen effector AVR-Pik. A mutation located within an effector-binding interface of the integrated Pikp–HMA domain increased the binding affinity for AVR-Pik variants in vitro and in vivo. This translates to an expanded cell-death response to AVR-Pik variants previously unrecognized by Pikp in planta. The structures of the engineered Pikp–HMA in complex with AVR-Pik variants revealed the mechanism of expanded recognition. These results provide a proof-of-concept that protein engineering can improve the utility of plant NLR receptors where direct interaction between effectors and NLRs is established, particularly where this interaction occurs via integrated domains.

Metabolic Basis of Pathogenesis and Host Adaptation in Rice Blast

The blast disease, caused by the ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae, poses a great threat to rice production worldwide. Increasing use of fungicides and/or blast-resistant varieties of rice (Oryza sativa) has proved to be ineffective in long-term control of blast disease under field conditions. To develop effective and durable resistance to blast, it is important to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying pathogenic development in M. oryzae. In this review, we summarize the latest research in phototropism, autophagy, nutrient and redox signaling, and intrinsic phytohormone mimics in M. oryzae for cellular and metabolic adaptation(s) during its interactions with the host plants.

Establishment of a Rapid Detection Method for Rice Blast Fungus Based on One-Step Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

Rice blast is one of the most serious diseases for rice, and controlling the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that causes rice blast is crucial for global food security. Typically, early infected rice does not show symptoms. Therefore, the early diagnosis of rice blast is particularly important to avoid uncontrollable propagation of rice blast fungus. In the present work, a rapid and efficient loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was developed to detect the pathogen at the early infected stage of rice. The Alb1 superfamily hypothetical protein MGG_04322, a nuclear shuttling factor involved in ribosome and melanin biogenesis, was chosen as the target for designing the LAMP primers. The LAMP assay enabled rapid detection of as little as 10 pg of pure genomic DNA of M. oryzae. In addition, we established the quantitative LAMP (q-LAMP) detection system to quantify the conidia of rice blast fungus. The q-LAMP assay enabled rapid detection (within 35 min) of the fungal spores at a sensitivity of 3.2 spores/ml. In addition, the assay sets up the linearization formula of the standard curve as y = 0.3066 + 15.33x (where x = amplification of time), inferring that spore number = 10^0.60y. In addition, the q-LAMP assay was successfully used to detect the presence of the virulence strains of M. oryzae (wild type) in comparison with that of the two mutant strains by quantifying the biomass within host tissue. These results provide a useful and convenient tool for detecting M. oryzae that could be applied in the incubation period of rice blast before symptoms appear.