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Bindics J, Khan M, Uhse S, Kogelmann B, Baggely L, Reumann D, Ingole KD, Stirnberg A, Rybecky A, Darino M, Navarrete F, Doehlemann G, Djamei A. Many ways to TOPLESS - manipulation of plant auxin signalling by a cluster of fungal effectors. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 236:1455-1470. [PMID: 35944559 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plant biotrophic pathogens employ secreted molecules, called effectors, to suppress the host immune system and redirect the host's metabolism and development in their favour. Putative effectors of the gall-inducing maize pathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis were analysed for their ability to induce auxin signalling in plants. Using genetic, biochemical, cell-biological, and bioinformatic approaches we functionally elucidate a set of five, genetically linked effectors, called Topless (TPL) interacting protein (Tips) effectors that induce auxin signalling. We show that Tips induce auxin signalling by interfering with central corepressors of the TPL family. CRISPR-Cas9 mutants and deletion strain analysis indicate that the auxin signalling inducing subcluster effectors plays a redundant role in virulence. Although none of the Tips seem to have a conserved interaction motif, four of them bind solely to the N-terminal TPL domain and, for Tip1 and Tip4, we demonstrate direct competition with auxin/indole-3-acetic acid transcriptional repressors for their binding to TPL class of corepressors. Our findings reveal that TPL proteins, key regulators of growth-defence antagonism, are a major target of the U. maydis effectome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janos Bindics
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mamoona Khan
- Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Simon Uhse
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Benjamin Kogelmann
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Baggely
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Reumann
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kishor D Ingole
- Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexandra Stirnberg
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna Rybecky
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Darino
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fernando Navarrete
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gunther Doehlemann
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Armin Djamei
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna Bio Center (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115, Bonn, Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstraße 3, D-06466, Stadt Seeland, Germany
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The Pleiades are a cluster of fungal effectors that inhibit host defenses. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009641. [PMID: 34166468 PMCID: PMC8224859 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Biotrophic plant pathogens secrete effector proteins to manipulate the host physiology. Effectors suppress defenses and induce an environment favorable to disease development. Sequence-based prediction of effector function is impeded by their rapid evolution rate. In the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis, effector-coding genes frequently organize in clusters. Here we describe the functional characterization of the pleiades, a cluster of ten effector genes, by analyzing the micro- and macroscopic phenotype of the cluster deletion and expressing these proteins in planta. Deletion of the pleiades leads to strongly impaired virulence and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in infected tissue. Eight of the Pleiades suppress the production of ROS upon perception of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Although functionally redundant, the Pleiades target different host components. The paralogs Taygeta1 and Merope1 suppress ROS production in either the cytoplasm or nucleus, respectively. Merope1 targets and promotes the auto-ubiquitination activity of RFI2, a conserved family of E3 ligases that regulates the production of PAMP-triggered ROS burst in plants.
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Lange L, Pilgaard B, Herbst FA, Busk PK, Gleason F, Pedersen AG. Origin of fungal biomass degrading enzymes: Evolution, diversity and function of enzymes of early lineage fungi. FUNGAL BIOL REV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbr.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Meerupati T, Andersson KM, Friman E, Kumar D, Tunlid A, Ahrén D. Genomic mechanisms accounting for the adaptation to parasitism in nematode-trapping fungi. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003909. [PMID: 24244185 PMCID: PMC3828140 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Orbiliomycetes is one of the earliest diverging branches of the filamentous ascomycetes. The class contains nematode-trapping fungi that form unique infection structures, called traps, to capture and kill free-living nematodes. The traps have evolved differently along several lineages and include adhesive traps (knobs, nets or branches) and constricting rings. We show, by genome sequencing of the knob-forming species Monacrosporium haptotylum and comparison with the net-forming species Arthrobotrys oligospora, that two genomic mechanisms are likely to have been important for the adaptation to parasitism in these fungi. Firstly, the expansion of protein domain families and the large number of species-specific genes indicated that gene duplication followed by functional diversification had a major role in the evolution of the nematode-trapping fungi. Gene expression indicated that many of these genes are important for pathogenicity. Secondly, gene expression of orthologs between the two fungi during infection indicated that differential regulation was an important mechanism for the evolution of parasitism in nematode-trapping fungi. Many of the highly expressed and highly upregulated M. haptotylum transcripts during the early stages of nematode infection were species-specific and encoded small secreted proteins (SSPs) that were affected by repeat-induced point mutations (RIP). An active RIP mechanism was revealed by lack of repeats, dinucleotide bias in repeats and genes, low proportion of recent gene duplicates, and reduction of recent gene family expansions. The high expression and rapid divergence of SSPs indicate a striking similarity in the infection mechanisms of nematode-trapping fungi and plant and insect pathogens from the crown groups of the filamentous ascomycetes (Pezizomycotina). The patterns of gene family expansions in the nematode-trapping fungi were more similar to plant pathogens than to insect and animal pathogens. The observation of RIP activity in the Orbiliomycetes suggested that this mechanism was present early in the evolution of the filamentous ascomycetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tejashwari Meerupati
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
| | - Karl-Magnus Andersson
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
| | - Eva Friman
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
| | - Dharmendra Kumar
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
- Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, N.D. University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad, India
| | - Anders Tunlid
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
| | - Dag Ahrén
- Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
- BILS Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Life Sciences, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund, Sweden
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Ji L, Jiang ZD, Liu Y, Koh CMJ, Zhang LH. A Simplified and efficient method for transformation and gene tagging of Ustilago maydis using frozen cells. Fungal Genet Biol 2010; 47:279-87. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2010.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2009] [Revised: 01/08/2010] [Accepted: 01/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Moore GG, Singh R, Horn BW, Carbone I. Recombination and lineage-specific gene loss in the aflatoxin gene cluster of Aspergillus flavus. Mol Ecol 2009; 18:4870-87. [PMID: 19895419 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04414.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus are potent carcinogens that contaminate agricultural crops. Recent efforts to reduce aflatoxin concentrations in crops have focused on biological control using nonaflatoxigenic A. flavus strains AF36 (=NRRL 18543) and NRRL 21882 (the active component of afla-guard. However, the evolutionary potential of these strains to remain nonaflatoxigenic in nature is unknown. To elucidate the underlying population processes that influence aflatoxigenicity, we examined patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) spanning 21 regions in the aflatoxin gene cluster of A. flavus. We show that recombination events are unevenly distributed across the cluster in A. flavus. Six distinct LD blocks separate late pathway genes aflE, aflM, aflN, aflG, aflL, aflI and aflO, and there is no discernable evidence of recombination among early pathway genes aflA, aflB, aflC, aflD, aflR and aflS. The discordance in phylogenies inferred for the aflW/aflX intergenic region and two noncluster regions, tryptophan synthase and acetamidase, is indicative of trans-species evolution in the cluster. Additionally, polymorphisms in aflW/aflX divide A. flavus strains into two distinct clades, each harbouring only one of the two approved biocontrol strains. The clade with AF36 includes both aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic strains, whereas the clade with NRRL 21882 comprises only nonaflatoxigenic strains and includes all strains of A. flavus missing the entire gene cluster or with partial gene clusters. Our detection of LD blocks in partial clusters indicates that recombination may have played an important role in cluster disassembly, and multilocus coalescent analyses of cluster and noncluster regions indicate lineage-specific gene loss in A. flavus. These results have important implications in assessing the stability of biocontrol strains in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geromy G Moore
- Center for Integrated Fungal Research, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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McDonagh A, Fedorova ND, Crabtree J, Yu Y, Kim S, Chen D, Loss O, Cairns T, Goldman G, Armstrong-James D, Haynes K, Haas H, Schrettl M, May G, Nierman WC, Bignell E. Sub-telomere directed gene expression during initiation of invasive aspergillosis. PLoS Pathog 2008; 4:e1000154. [PMID: 18787699 PMCID: PMC2526178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 205] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2007] [Accepted: 08/14/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a common mould whose spores are a
component of the normal airborne flora. Immune dysfunction permits developmental
growth of inhaled spores in the human lung causing aspergillosis, a significant
threat to human health in the form of allergic, and life-threatening invasive
infections. The success of A. fumigatus as a pathogen is unique
among close phylogenetic relatives and is poorly characterised at the molecular
level. Recent genome sequencing of several Aspergillus species
provides an exceptional opportunity to analyse fungal virulence attributes
within a genomic and evolutionary context. To identify genes preferentially
expressed during adaptation to the mammalian host niche, we generated multiple
gene expression profiles from minute samplings of A. fumigatus
germlings during initiation of murine infection. They reveal a highly
co-ordinated A. fumigatus gene expression programme, governing
metabolic and physiological adaptation, which allows the organism to prosper
within the mammalian niche. As functions of phylogenetic conservation and
genetic locus, 28% and 30%, respectively, of the
A. fumigatus subtelomeric and lineage-specific gene
repertoires are induced relative to laboratory culture, and physically clustered
genes including loci directing pseurotin, gliotoxin and siderophore biosyntheses
are a prominent feature. Locationally biased A. fumigatus gene
expression is not prompted by in vitro iron limitation, acid,
alkaline, anaerobic or oxidative stress. However, subtelomeric gene expression
is favoured following ex vivo neutrophil exposure and in
comparative analyses of richly and poorly nourished laboratory cultured
germlings. We found remarkable concordance between the A.
fumigatus host-adaptation transcriptome and those resulting from
in vitro iron depletion, alkaline shift, nitrogen
starvation and loss of the methyltransferase LaeA. This first transcriptional
snapshot of a fungal genome during initiation of mammalian infection provides
the global perspective required to direct much-needed diagnostic and therapeutic
strategies and reveals genome organisation and subtelomeric diversity as
potential driving forces in the evolution of pathogenicity in the genus
Aspergillus. Airborne spores of the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus are present
in significant quantities worldwide and are responsible for a range of illnesses
from allergy to deadly invasive lung infection. A number of fungal properties
are likely required for germination and growth of the fungus in the host, and
now that the genome sequence of A. fumigatus is available it is
possible to address which genes become important during initiation of infection.
Understanding this might lead to new therapeutics and diagnostic tools. We have
compared A. fumigatus gene activation during infection in a
murine model to that in a laboratory culture to identify fungal attributes
preferentially employed during disease. Our analysis entailed measurement of
activity from most of the >9000 A. fumigatus genes,
identifying iron limitation, alkaline stress, and nitrogen starvation as
prominent stresses imposed by the host environment. We also found that genes
preferentially employed for infection occur in clusters and are more likely to
reside near the end of chromosomes, otherwise known as telomeres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew McDonagh
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
| | - Natalie D. Fedorova
- The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of
America
| | - Jonathan Crabtree
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
| | - Yan Yu
- The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of
America
| | - Stanley Kim
- Korea University, College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Anam-Dong,
Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, Korea
| | - Dan Chen
- The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of
America
| | - Omar Loss
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
| | - Timothy Cairns
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
| | - Gustavo Goldman
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de
Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo,
Brazil
| | | | - Ken Haynes
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
| | - Hubertus Haas
- Biocenter-Divison of Molecular Biology, Innsbruck Medical University,
Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Markus Schrettl
- Biocenter-Divison of Molecular Biology, Innsbruck Medical University,
Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Gregory May
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, UT-Houston Medical School, Houston,
Texas, United States of America
| | - William C. Nierman
- The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of
America
- The George Washington University School of Medicine, Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Washington D.C., United States of
America
| | - Elaine Bignell
- Department of Microbiology, Imperial College London, London, United
Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Slot JC, Hibbett DS. Horizontal transfer of a nitrate assimilation gene cluster and ecological transitions in fungi: a phylogenetic study. PLoS One 2007; 2:e1097. [PMID: 17971860 PMCID: PMC2040219 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2007] [Accepted: 10/08/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
High affinity nitrate assimilation genes in fungi occur in a cluster (fHANT-AC) that can be coordinately regulated. The clustered genes include nrt2, which codes for a high affinity nitrate transporter; euknr, which codes for nitrate reductase; and NAD(P)H-nir, which codes for nitrite reductase. Homologs of genes in the fHANT-AC occur in other eukaryotes and prokaryotes, but they have only been found clustered in the oomycete Phytophthora (heterokonts). We performed independent and concatenated phylogenetic analyses of homologs of all three genes in the fHANT-AC. Phylogenetic analyses limited to fungal sequences suggest that the fHANT-AC has been transferred horizontally from a basidiomycete (mushrooms and smuts) to an ancestor of the ascomycetous mold Trichoderma reesei. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences from diverse eukaryotes and eubacteria, and cluster structure, are consistent with a hypothesis that the fHANT-AC was assembled in a lineage leading to the oomycetes and was subsequently transferred to the Dikarya (Ascomycota+Basidiomycota), which is a derived fungal clade that includes the vast majority of terrestrial fungi. We propose that the acquisition of high affinity nitrate assimilation contributed to the success of Dikarya on land by allowing exploitation of nitrate in aerobic soils, and the subsequent transfer of a complete assimilation cluster improved the fitness of T. reesei in a new niche. Horizontal transmission of this cluster of functionally integrated genes supports the "selfish operon" hypothesis for maintenance of gene clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C Slot
- Department of Biology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America.
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