The barley mutant emr1 exhibits restored resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae in the hypersusceptible mlo-genetic background

Genetic and physical localization of a leaf rust susceptibility gene in barley

KEY MESSAGE

Fine mapping of the leaf rust susceptibility gene Sph1 identified a receptor-like kinase-encoding gene as a candidate and provided user-friendly markers for barley breeding. Caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen Puccinia hordei, leaf rust is one of the important foliar diseases in barley. Although a few dominant genes for leaf rust resistance have been identified and cloned in barley, resistance conferred by major genes has been frequently defeated by the pathogen. A recessive resistance was identified in a spring barley accession using the P. hordei isolate VA90-34 which is virulent to most of major resistance genes. To localize this recessive resistance (hereafter named Susceptibility to P. hordei 1 or Sph1 indicating that the dominant allele confers disease susceptibility), we conducted fine mapping with an F2 population and molecular markers in the present study. The Sph1 gene was anchored near the telomere of the short arm of chromosome 3H, delimited within an ⁓560 kb region in the dominant parent. Of the six predicted genes in the Sph1 region, a gene encoding putative receptor-like kinase was selected as a candidate for functional validation. Therefore, our study provides a high-resolution genetic map and candidate for Sph1, building a foundation for the cloning of this important gene.

Genome-edited powdery mildew resistance in wheat without growth penalties

Disruption of susceptibility (S) genes in crops is an attractive breeding strategy for conferring disease resistance^1,2. However, S genes are implicated in many essential biological functions and deletion of these genes typically results in undesired pleiotropic effects¹. Loss-of-function mutations in one such S gene, Mildew resistance locus O (MLO), confers durable and broad-spectrum resistance to powdery mildew in various plant species^2,3. However, mlo-associated resistance is also accompanied by growth penalties and yield losses^3,4, thereby limiting its widespread use in agriculture. Here we describe Tamlo-R32, a mutant with a 304-kilobase pair targeted deletion in the MLO-B1 locus of wheat that retains crop growth and yields while conferring robust powdery mildew resistance. We show that this deletion results in an altered local chromatin landscape, leading to the ectopic activation of Tonoplast monosaccharide transporter 3 (TaTMT3B), and that this activation alleviates growth and yield penalties associated with MLO disruption. Notably, the function of TMT3 is conserved in other plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, precision genome editing facilitates the rapid introduction of this mlo resistance allele (Tamlo-R32) into elite wheat varieties. This work demonstrates the ability to stack genetic changes to rescue growth defects caused by recessive alleles, which is critical for developing high-yielding crop varieties with robust and durable disease resistance.

The β-Ketoacyl-CoA Synthase HvKCS1, Encoded by Cer-zh, Plays a Key Role in Synthesis of Barley Leaf Wax and Germination of Barley Powdery Mildew

The cuticle coats the primary aerial surfaces of land plants. It consists of cutin and waxes, which provide protection against desiccation, pathogens and herbivores. Acyl cuticular waxes are synthesized via elongase complexes that extend fatty acyl precursors up to 38 carbons for downstream modification pathways. The leaves of 21 barley eceriferum (cer) mutants appear to have less or no epicuticular wax crystals, making these mutants excellent tools for identifying elongase and modification pathway biosynthetic genes. Positional cloning of the gene mutated in cer-zh identified an elongase component, β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase (CER-ZH/HvKCS1) that is one of 34 homologous KCSs encoded by the barley genome. The biochemical function of CER-ZH was deduced from wax and cutin analyses and by heterologous expression in yeast. Combined, these experiments revealed that CER-ZH/HvKCS1 has a substrate specificity for C16-C20, especially unsaturated, acyl chains, thus playing a major role in total acyl chain elongation for wax biosynthesis. The contribution of CER-ZH to water barrier properties of the cuticle and its influence on the germination of barley powdery mildew fungus were also assessed.

Potential impact of genome editing in world agriculture

Changeable biotic and abiotic stress factors that affect crop growth and productivity, alongside a drive to reduce the unintended consequences of plant protection products, will demand highly adaptive farm management practices as well as access to continually improved seed varieties. The former is limited mainly by cost and, in theory, could be implemented in relatively short time frames. The latter is fundamentally a longer-term activity where genome editing can play a major role. The first targets for genome editing will inevitably be loss-of-function alleles, because these are straightforward to generate. In addition, they are likely to focus on traits under simple genetic control and where the results of modification are already well understood from null alleles in existing gene pools or other knockout or silencing approaches such as induced mutations or RNA interference. In the longer term, genome editing will underpin more fundamental changes in agricultural performance and food quality, and ultimately will merge with the tools and philosophies of synthetic biology to underpin and enable new cellular systems, processes and organisms completely. The genetic changes required for simple allele edits or knockout phenotypes are synonymous with those found naturally in conventional breeding material and should be regulated as such. The more radical possibilities in the longer term will need societal engagement along with appropriate safety and ethical oversight.

Host-Induced Gene Silencing of Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Pathogenicity Genes Mediated by the Brome Mosaic Virus

Magnaportheoryzae is a devastating plant pathogen, which has a detrimental impact on rice production worldwide. Despite its agronomical importance, some newly-emerging pathotypes often overcome race-specific disease resistance rapidly. It is thus desirable to develop a novel strategy for the long-lasting resistance of rice plants to ever-changing fungal pathogens. Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-induced RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a useful tool to study host-resistance genes for rice blast protection. Planta-generated silencing of targeted genes inside biotrophic pathogens can be achieved by expression of M.oryzae-derived gene fragments in the BMV-mediated gene silencing system, a technique termed host-induced gene silencing (HIGS). In this study, the effectiveness of BMV-mediated HIGS in M.oryzae was examined by targeting three predicted pathogenicity genes, MoABC1,MoMAC1 and MoPMK1. Systemic generation of fungal gene-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules induced by inoculation of BMV viral vectors inhibited disease development and reduced the transcription of targeted fungal genes after subsequent M.oryzae inoculation. Combined introduction of fungal gene sequences in sense and antisense orientation mediated by the BMV silencing vectors significantly enhanced the efficiency of this host-generated trans-specific RNAi, implying that these fungal genes played crucial roles in pathogenicity. Collectively, our results indicated that BMV-HIGS system was a great strategy for protecting host plants against the invasion of pathogenic fungi.

Polarized Defense Against Fungal Pathogens Is Mediated by the Jacalin-Related Lectin Domain of Modular Poaceae-Specific Proteins

Modular proteins are an evolutionary answer to optimize performance of proteins that physically interact with each other for functionality. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical experiments, we characterized the rice protein OsJAC1, which consists of a jacalin-related lectin (JRL) domain predicted to bind mannose-containing oligosaccharides, and a dirigent domain which might function in stereoselective coupling of monolignols. Transgenic overexpression of OsJAC1 in rice resulted in quantitative broad-spectrum resistance against different pathogens including bacteria, oomycetes, and fungi. Overexpression of this gene or its wheat ortholog TAJA1 in barley enhanced resistance against the powdery mildew fungus. Both protein domains of OsJAC1 are required to establish resistance as indicated by single or combined transient expression of individual domains. Expression of artificially separated and fluorescence-tagged protein domains showed that the JRL domain is sufficient for targeting the powdery mildew penetration site. Nevertheless, co-localization of the lectin and the dirigent domain occurred. Phylogenetic analyses revealed orthologs of OsJAC1 exclusively within the Poaceae plant family. Dicots, by contrast, only contain proteins with either JRL or dirigent domain(s). Altogether, our results identify OsJAC1 as a representative of a novel type of resistance protein derived from a plant lineage-specific gene fusion event for better function in local pathogen defense.

Evolutionary conserved function of barley and Arabidopsis 3-KETOACYL-CoA SYNTHASES in providing wax signals for germination of powdery mildew fungi

For plant pathogenic fungi, such as powdery mildews, that survive only on a limited number of host plant species, it is a matter of vital importance that their spores sense that they landed on the right spot to initiate germination as quickly as possible. We investigated a barley (Hordeum vulgare) mutant with reduced epicuticular leaf waxes on which spores of adapted and nonadapted powdery mildew fungi showed reduced germination. The barley gene responsible for the mutant wax phenotype was cloned in a forward genetic screen and identified to encode a 3-KETOACYL-CoA SYNTHASE (HvKCS6), a protein participating in fatty acid elongation and required for synthesis of epicuticular waxes. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the mutant has significantly fewer aliphatic wax constituents with a chain length above C-24. Complementation of the mutant restored wild-type wax and overcame germination penalty, indicating that wax constituents less present on the mutant are a crucial clue for spore germination. Investigation of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) transgenic plants with sense silencing of Arabidopsis REQUIRED FOR CUTICULAR WAX PRODUCTION1, the HvKCS6 ortholog, revealed the same germination phenotype against adapted and nonadapted powdery mildew fungi. Our findings hint to an evolutionary conserved mechanism for sensing of plant surfaces among distantly related powdery mildews that is based on KCS6-derived wax components. Perception of such a signal must have been evolved before the monocot-dicot split took place approximately 150 million years ago.

Germination and infectivity of microconidia in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is a model for studying fungal-plant interactions. Although it produces two types of spores (microconidia and macroconidia), previous infection studies have exclusively dealt with macroconidia. Germination of microconidia has not been reported, and their role in plant infection is not defined. Here we show that approximately 10% of microconidia germinate on plant surfaces, and that colonies derived from germinated microconidia are normal in growth and pathogenesis. In infection assays with rice and barley seedlings, microconidia fail to infect intact plants, but they can colonize and develop necrotic lesions on wounded leaves and stems. Microconidia also cause disease symptoms on inoculated spikelets in infection assays with barley and Brachypodium heads. Furthermore, microconidia are detected inside rice plants that developed blast lesions under laboratory or field conditions. Therefore, microconidia can germinate and are infectious, and may be an important factor in the rice blast cycle.

A trade off between mlo resistance to powdery mildew and increased susceptibility of barley to a newly important disease, Ramularia leaf spot

Ramularia leaf spot (RLS), caused by the fungus Ramularia collo-cygni, is a serious, recently emerged disease of barley in Europe and other temperate regions. This study investigated the trade off between strong resistance to powdery mildew conferred by mlo mutant alleles and increased susceptibility to RLS. In field trials and seedling tests, the presence of mlo alleles increased severity of RLS. Genetic analysis of a doubled-haploid population identified one quantitative trait locus for susceptibility to RLS, colocalizing with the mlo-11 allele for mildew resistance. The effect of mlo-11 on RLS severity was environmentally sensitive. Analysis of near-isogenic lines of different mlo mutations in various genetic backgrounds confirmed that mlo alleles increased RLS severity in seedlings and adult plants. For mlo resistance to mildew to be fully effective, the genes ROR1 and ROR2 are required. RLS symptoms were significantly reduced on mlo-5 ror double mutants but fungal DNA levels remained as high as in mlo-5 single mutants, implying that ror alleles modify the transition of the fungus from endophytism to necrotrophy. These results indicate that the widespread use of mlo resistance to control mildew may have inadvertently stimulated the emergence of RLS as a major disease of barley.

Susceptibility genes 101: how to be a good host

To confer resistance against pathogens and pests in plants, typically dominant resistance genes are deployed. However, because resistance is based on recognition of a single pathogen-derived molecular pattern, these narrow-spectrum genes are usually readily overcome. Disease arises from a compatible interaction between plant and pathogen. Hence, altering a plant gene that critically facilitates compatibility could provide a more broad-spectrum and durable type of resistance. Here, such susceptibility (S) genes are reviewed with a focus on the mechanisms underlying loss of compatibility. We distinguish three groups of S genes acting during different stages of infection: early pathogen establishment, modulation of host defenses, and pathogen sustenance. The many examples reviewed here show that S genes have the potential to be used in resistance breeding. However, because S genes have a function other than being a compatibility factor for the pathogen, the side effects caused by their mutation demands a one-by-one assessment of their usefulness for application.

The Barley Mutant emr1 was Identified in a Mutational Screen for Resistance Against Magnaporthe oryzae

Barley plants can be colonized by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, a pathogen initially known from rice plant cultivation. A mutational screen was performed in the barley mlo-genetic background which is, in comparison to wild-type MLO-genotypes, hypersusceptible against this fungus. This led to the identification of a mutant, referred to as emr1 (enhanced Magnaporthe resistance), that showed partially restored resistance. Disease symptoms on leaves of emr1 were significantly less severe than on mlo5-genotypes but still more than on wt MLO-barley plants.Segregation analysis showed that emr1 was inherited as a single recessive trait. Insight into the mode of action of emr1-dependent resistance against M. oryzae was gained by microscopic analysis. The results of these experiments revealed that mutant emr1 blocked penetration by M. oryzae by the formation of effective papillae in approximately half of all incidences. At about 30% of the interaction sites fungal growth was arrested effectively by an HR in the epidermal cell. Only a low frequency of fungal infection sites proceed into the mesophyll where fungal invasion resulted in the onset of a hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death. Here, we report further evidence that barley shows a mesophyll HR in response to colonisation by M. oryzae. The possibility that the fungus turns this ostensible defence reaction to its own advantage and profits from the dead host tissue by switching to a necrotrophic lifestyle is discussed.