Pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity and resistance to the root pathogen Phytophthora parasitica in Arabidopsis

A Pythium myriotylum Small Cysteine-Rich Protein Triggers Immune Responses in Diverse Plant Hosts

The oomycete Pythium myriotylum is a necrotrophic pathogen that infects many crop species worldwide, including ginger, soybean, tomato, and tobacco. Here, we identified a P. myriotylum small cysteine-rich protein, PmSCR1, that induces cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana by screening small, secreted proteins that were induced during infection of ginger and did not have a predicted function at the time of selection. Orthologs of PmSCR1 were found in other Pythium species, but these did not have cell death-inducing activity in N. benthamiana. PmSCR1 encodes a protein containing an auxiliary activity 17 family domain and triggers multiple immune responses in host plants. The elicitor function of PmSCR1 appears to be independent of enzymatic activity, because the heat inactivation of PmSCR1 protein did not affect PmSCR1-induced cell death or other defense responses. The elicitor function of PmSCR1 was also independent of BAK1 and SOBIR1. Furthermore, a small region of the protein, PmSCR^186-211, is sufficient for inducing cell death. A pretreatment using the full-length PmSCR1 protein promoted the resistance of soybean and N. benthamiana to Phytophthora sojae and Phytophthora capsici infection, respectively. These results reveal that PmSCR1 is a novel elicitor from P. myriotylum, which exhibits plant immunity-inducing activity in multiple host plants. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Hrip1 mediates rice cell wall fortification and phytoalexins elicitation to confer immunity against Magnaporthe oryzae

Magnaporthe oryzae is a potent fungus that adversely affects rice yield. Combinatorial techniques of prevention, toxic chemicals, and fungicide are used to remedy rice blast infection. We reported the role of Hrip1 in cell death elicitation and expression of systematic acquired resistance that could potentially stifle M. oryzae infection. In this study, transcriptome and metabolomic techniques were used to investigate the mechanism by which Hrip1 reprogramed the transcriptome of rice seedlings to confer immunity against M. oryzae. Our results showed that Hrip1 induces cell wall thickening and phytoalexin elicitation to confer immunity against M. oryzae infection. Hrip1 activates key lignin biosynthetic genes and myeloblastosis transcription factors that act as molecular switches for lignin production. Lignin content was increased by 68.46% and more after 48 h onwards in Hrip1-treated seedlings compared to the control treatment. Further analysis of cell wall morphology using the transmission electron microscopy technique revealed over 100% cell wall robustness. Hrip1 also induced the expression of 24 diterpene synthases. These include class I and II terpene synthases, cytochrome P450 subfamilies (OsCYP76M and OsCYP71Z), and momilactones synthases. The relationship between the expression of these genes and metabolic elicitation was analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Enhanced amounts of momilactones A and B, oryzalactone, and phytocassane A and G were detected in the Hrip1-treated leaves. We also identified seven benzoxazinoid genes (BX1-BX7) that could improve rice immunity. Our findings show that Hrip1 confers dual immunity by leveraging lignin and phytoalexins for physical and chemical resistance. This study provides novel insights into the mechanisms underlying Hrip1-treated plant immunity.

Phytophthora capsici CBM1-containing protein CBP3 is an apoplastic effector with plant immunity-inducing activity

Carbohydrate-binding module family 1 (CBM1) is a cellulose-binding domain that is almost exclusively found in fungi and oomycetes. CBM1-containing proteins (CBPs) have diverse domain architectures and play pivotal roles in the plant-microbe interaction. However, only a few CBPs have been functionally investigated. In this study, we identified PcCBP3 in an oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora capsici. PcCBP3 contains two tandem CBM1 domains and its orthologs from other Phytophthora species exhibit diversity including gene loss, pseudogenization, variations in sequences, and domain structures. PcCBP3 is upregulated during infection and knockout of PcCBP3 results in significantly decreased virulence. Moreover, PcCBP3 requires signal peptide to induce BAK1-dependent cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana. Further studies indicate that PcCBP3-triggered cell death and plant immunity require its N-terminal region, which is conserved in CBM1-containing proteins and other small, secreted, cysteine-rich protein from oomycetes. These results suggest that PcCBP3 is an apoplastic effector and could be perceived by the plant immune system.

The Same against Many: AtCML8, a Ca2+ Sensor Acting as a Positive Regulator of Defense Responses against Several Plant Pathogens

Calcium signals are crucial for the activation and coordination of signaling cascades leading to the establishment of plant defense mechanisms. Here, we studied the contribution of CML8, an Arabidopsis calmodulin-like protein in response to Ralstonia solanacearum and to pathogens with different lifestyles, such as Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and Phytophtora capsici. We used pathogenic infection assays, gene expression, RNA-seq approaches, and comparative analysis of public data on CML8 knockdown and overexpressing Arabidopsis lines to demonstrate that CML8 contributes to defense mechanisms against pathogenic bacteria and oomycetes. CML8 gene expression is finely regulated at the root level and manipulated during infection with Ralstonia, and CML8 overexpression confers better plant tolerance. To understand the processes controlled by CML8, genes differentially expressed at the root level in the first hours of infection have been identified. Overexpression of CML8 also confers better tolerance against Xanthomonas and Phytophtora, and most of the genes differentially expressed in response to Ralstonia are differentially expressed in these different pathosystems. Collectively, CML8 acts as a positive regulator against Ralstonia solanaceraum and against other vascular or root pathogens, suggesting that CML8 is a multifunctional protein that regulates common downstream processes involved in the defense response of plants to several pathogens.

Transcriptome profiling reveals response genes for downy mildew resistance in cucumber

We discovered a potential defense pathway of cucumber to downy mildew. The signaling that activates the pathways of ROS and lignin accumulation may play an important role in the defense response. Many resistance genes were identified by transcriptome analysis. Downy mildew (DM), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is one of the most destructive diseases and causes severe yield losses of cucumber. However, the genes and pathways involved in regulating DM resistance were still poorly understood. In our study, we observed that the highly sensitive inbred line 53 (IL53) exhibited more severe disease symptoms than the highly resistant inbred line 51 (IL51) under P. cubensis infection. Furthermore, lignin, limiting the germination and extension of P. cubensis, and H₂O₂, as a signaling molecule during the resistant process, were both shown to increase, indicating that the signaling that activates these pathways might be responsible for the resistance divergence between IL51 and IL53. Transcriptome analysis, using the resistant and susceptible pools in F₂ populations with IL51 and IL53 as parents, showed that a series of differentially expressed genes was involved in multiple functions of defense response: pathogen-associated molecular pattern recognition, signal transduction, reactive oxygen species and lignin accumulation, and transcription regulators. Combining physiological data with transcriptomes, we predicted a potential molecular mechanism of cucumber resistance to DM. Our research provided a foundation for further studies on the mechanism of cucumber resistance to DM.

Melatonin Mitigates the Infection of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides via Modulation of the Chitinase Gene and Antioxidant Activity in Capsicum annuum L

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, is one of the most damaging pepper (Capsicum annum L.) disease. Melatonin induces transcription of defense-related genes that enhance resistance to pathogens and mediate physiological activities in plants. To study whether the melatonin-mediated pathogen resistance is associated with chitinase gene (CaChiIII2), pepper plants and Arabidopsis seeds were treated with melatonin, then CaChiIII2 activation, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) levels, and antioxidant enzymes activity during plant–pathogen interactions were investigated. Melatonin pretreatment uncoupled the knockdown of CaChiIII2 and transiently activated its expression level in both control and CaChiIII2-silenced pepper plants and enhanced plant resistance. Suppression of CaChiIII2 in pepper plants showed a significant decreased in the induction of defense-related genes and resistance to pathogens compared with control plants. Moreover, melatonin efficiently enabled plants to maintain intracellular H₂O₂ concentrations at steady-state levels and enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, which possibly improved disease resistance. The activation of the chitinase gene CaChiIII2 in transgenic Arabidopsis lines was elevated under C. gloeosporioides infection and exhibited resistance through decreasing H₂O₂ biosynthesis and maintaining H₂O₂ at a steady-state level. Whereas melatonin primed CaChiIII2-overexpressed (OE) and wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis seedlings displayed a remarkable increase in root-length compared to the unprimed WT plants. Using an array of CaChiIII2 knockdown and OE, we found that melatonin efficiently induced CaChiIII2 and other pathogenesis-related genes expressions, responsible for the innate immunity response of pepper against anthracnose disease.

CsWRKY10 mediates defence responses to Botrytis cinerea infection in Cucumis sativus

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the most widely cultivated vegetable crops in the world, and its yield is often reduced due to the infection of Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea), which causes a serious disease. However, few genes involved in the response to B. cinerea have been identified in cucumber. In this study, we identified that CsWRKY10 plays a key role in the cucumber resistance to B. cinerea because that the overexpression of CsWRKY10 significantly increased the susceptibility to B. cinerea in cucumber. After the pathogen infection, the enzyme activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase in transgenic plants were affected, resulting in the decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents. In addition, the light microscopic images showed that overexpression of CsWRKY10 promoted the spore germination and mycelia elongation of B. cinerea in cucumber. Importantly, after B. cinerea infection, the contents of jasmonic acid (JA) are decreased, and the expression levels of JA- and salicylic acid- related defence genes significantly changed in transgenic plants. In contrast, overexpression of CsWRKY10 enhanced resistance to Corynespora cassiicola in cucumber. Collectively, this study indicated that CsWRKY10 negatively regulates the resistance of cucumber to B. cinerea by reducing the ROS contents and inhibiting the JA-mediated resistance signalling pathway, but strengthens resistance to Corynespora cassiicola.

Phytophthora palmivora-Cocoa Interaction

Phytophthora palmivora (Butler) is an hemibiotrophic oomycete capable of infecting over 200 plant species including one of the most economically important crops, Theobroma cacao L. commonly known as cocoa. It infects many parts of the cocoa plant including the pods, causing black pod rot disease. This review will focus on P. palmivora’s ability to infect a plant host to cause disease. We highlight some current findings in other Phytophthora sp. plant model systems demonstrating how the germ tube, the appressorium and the haustorium enable the plant pathogen to penetrate a plant cell and how they contribute to the disease development in planta. This review explores the molecular exchange between the oomycete and the plant host, and the role of plant immunity during the development of such structures, to understand the infection of cocoa pods by P. palmivora isolates from Papua New Guinea.

Vascular bundle sheath and mesophyll cells modulate leaf water balance in response to chitin

Plants can detect pathogen invasion by sensing microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). This sensing process leads to the induction of defense responses. Numerous MAMP mechanisms of action have been described in and outside the guard cells. Here, we describe the effects of chitin, a MAMP found in fungal cell walls and insects, on the cellular osmotic water permeability (P_f ) of the leaf vascular bundle-sheath (BS) and mesophyll cells (MCs), and its subsequent effect on leaf hydraulic conductance (K_leaf ). BS is a parenchymatic tissue that tightly encases the vascular system. BS cells (BSCs) have been shown to influence K_leaf through changes in their P_f , for example, after sensing the abiotic stress response-regulating hormone abscisic acid. It was recently reported that, in Arabidopsis, the chitin receptors-like kinases, chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (CERK1) and LYSINE MOTIF RECEPTOR KINASE 5 (LYK5) are highly expressed in the BS as well as the neighboring mesophyll. Therefore, we studied the possible impact of chitin on these cells. Our results revealed that BSCs and MCs exhibit a sharp decrease in P_f in response to chitin treatment. In addition, xylem-fed chitin decreased K_leaf and led to stomatal closure. However, Atlyk5 mutant showed none of these responses. Complementing AtLYK5 in the BSCs (using the SCARECROW promoter) resulted in the response to chitin that was similar to that observed in the wild-type. These results suggest that BS play a role in the perception of apoplastic chitin and in initiating chitin-triggered immunity.

Purinoceptor P2K1/DORN1 Enhances Plant Resistance Against a Soilborne Fungal Pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani

The purinoceptor P2K1/DORN1 recognizes extracellular ATP, a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) released upon cellular disruption by wounding and necrosis, which in turn, boost plant innate immunity. P2K1 is known to confer plant resistance to foliar biotrophic, hemi-biotrophic, and necrotrophic pathogens. However, until now, no information was available on its function in defense against root pathogens. In this report, we describe the contribution of P2K1 to resistance in Arabidopsis against Rhizoctonia solani, a broad host range, necrotrophic soilborne fungal pathogen. In pot assays, the Arabidopsis P2K1 overexpression line OxP2K1 showed longer root length and a greater rosette surface area than wild type in the presence of the pathogen. In contrast, the knockout mutant dorn1-3 and the double mutant rbohd/f, defective in two subunits of the respiratory burst complex NADPH oxidase, exhibited significant reductions in shoot and root lengths and rosette surface area compared to wild type when the pathogen was present. Expression of PR1, PDF1.2, and JAZ5 in the roots was reduced in dorn1-3 and rbohd/f and elevated in OxP2K1 relative to wild type, indicating that the salicylate and jasmonate defense signaling pathways functioned in resistance. These results indicated that a DAMP-mediated defense system confers basal resistance against an important root necrotrophic fungal pathogen.

The PTI to ETI Continuum in Phytophthora-Plant Interactions

Phytophthora species are notorious pathogens of several economically important crop plants. Several general elicitors, commonly referred to as Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs), from Phytophthora spp. have been identified that are recognized by the plant receptors to trigger induced defense responses in a process termed PAMP-triggered Immunity (PTI). Adapted Phytophthora pathogens have evolved multiple strategies to evade PTI. They can either modify or suppress their elicitors to avoid recognition by host and modulate host defense responses by deploying hundreds of effectors, which suppress host defense and physiological processes by modulating components involved in calcium and MAPK signaling, alternative splicing, RNA interference, vesicle trafficking, cell-to-cell trafficking, proteolysis and phytohormone signaling pathways. In incompatible interactions, resistant host plants perceive effector-induced modulations through resistance proteins and activate downstream components of defense responses in a quicker and more robust manner called effector-triggered-immunity (ETI). When pathogens overcome PTI-usually through effectors in the absence of R proteins-effectors-triggered susceptibility (ETS) ensues. Qualitatively, many of the downstream defense responses overlap between PTI and ETI. In general, these multiple phases of Phytophthora-plant interactions follow the PTI-ETS-ETI paradigm, initially proposed in the zigzag model of plant immunity. However, based on several examples, in Phytophthora-plant interactions, boundaries between these phases are not distinct but are rather blended pointing to a PTI-ETI continuum.

Apoplastic invasion patterns triggering plant immunity: plasma membrane sensing at the frontline

Plants are able to effectively cope with invading pathogens by activating an immune response based on the detection of invasion patterns (IPs) originating from the pathogen or released by the plant after infection. At a first level, this perception takes place at the plasma membrane through cell surface immune receptors and although the involvement of proteinaceous pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) is well established, increasing data are also pointing out the role of membrane lipids in the sensing of IPs. In this review, we discuss the evolution of various conceptual models describing plant immunity and present an overview of well-characterized IPs from different natures and origins. We summarize the current knowledge on how they are perceived by plants at the plasma membrane, highlighting the increasingly apparent diversity of sentinel-related systems in plants.

The plant-parasitic cyst nematode effector GLAND4 is a DNA-binding protein

Cyst nematodes are plant pathogens that infect a wide range of economically important crops. One parasitic mechanism employed by cyst nematodes is the production and in planta delivery of effector proteins to modify plant cells and suppress defences to favour parasitism. This study focuses on GLAND4, an effector of Heterodera glycines and H. schachtii, the soybean and sugar beet cyst nematodes, respectively. We show that GLAND4 is recognized by the plant cellular machinery and is transported to the plant nucleus, an organelle for which little is known about plant nematode effector functions. We show that GLAND4 has DNA-binding ability and represses reporter gene expression in a plant transcriptional assay. One DNA fragment that binds to GLAND4 is localized in an Arabidopsis chromosomal region associated with the promoters of two lipid transfer protein genes (LTP). These LTPs have known defence functions and are down-regulated in the nematode feeding site. When expressed in Arabidopsis, the presence of GLAND4 causes the down-regulation of the two LTP genes in question, which is also associated with increased susceptibility to the plant-pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae. Furthermore, overexpression of one of the LTP genes reduces plant susceptibility to H. schachtii and P. syringae, confirming that LTP repression probably suppresses plant defences. This study makes GLAND4 one of a small subset of characterized plant nematode nuclear effectors and identifies GLAND4 as the first DNA-binding, plant-parasitic nematode effector.

Pattern recognition receptors and signaling in plant-microbe interactions

Plants solely rely on innate immunity of each individual cell to deal with a diversity of microbes in the environment. Extracellular recognition of microbe- and host damage-associated molecular patterns leads to the first layer of inducible defenses, termed pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). In plants, pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) described to date are all membrane-associated receptor-like kinases or receptor-like proteins, reflecting the prevalence of apoplastic colonization of plant-infecting microbes. An increasing inventory of elicitor-active patterns and PRRs indicates that a large number of them are limited to a certain range of plant groups/species, pointing to dynamic and convergent evolution of pattern recognition specificities. In addition to common molecular principles of PRR signaling, recent studies have revealed substantial diversification between PRRs in their functions and regulatory mechanisms. This serves to confer robustness and plasticity to the whole PTI system in natural infections, wherein different PRRs are simultaneously engaged and faced with microbial assaults. We review the functional significance and molecular basis of PRR-mediated pathogen recognition and disease resistance, and also an emerging role for PRRs in homeostatic association with beneficial or commensal microbes.

Transcriptome dynamic of Arabidopsis roots infected with Phytophthora parasitica identifies VQ29, a gene induced during the penetration and involved in the restriction of infection

Little is known about the responses of plant roots to filamentous pathogens, particularly to oomycetes. To assess the molecular dialog established between the host and the pathogen during early stages of infection, we investigated the overall changes in gene expression in A. thaliana roots challenged with P. parasitica. We analyzed various infection stages, from penetration and establishment of the interaction to the switch from biotrophy to necrotrophy.

We identified 3390 genes for which expression was modulated during the infection. The A. thaliana transcriptome displays a dynamic response to P. parasitica infection, from penetration onwards. Some genes were specifically coregulated during penetration and biotrophic growth of the pathogen. Many of these genes have functions relating to primary metabolism, plant growth, and defense responses. In addition, many genes encoding VQ motif-containing proteins were found to be upregulated in plant roots, early in infection. Inactivation of VQ29 gene significantly increased susceptibility to P. parasitica during the late stages of infection. This finding suggests that the gene contributes to restricting oomycete development within plant tissues. Furthermore, the vq29 mutant phenotype was not associated with an impairment of plant defenses involving SA-, JA-, and ET-dependent signaling pathways, camalexin biosynthesis, or PTI signaling. Collectively, the data presented here thus show that infection triggers a specific genetic program in roots, beginning as soon as the pathogen penetrates the first cells.

Regulation of cellulose synthesis in response to stress

The cell wall is a complex polysaccharide network that provides stability and protection to the plant and is one of the first layers of biotic and abiotic stimuli perception. A controlled remodeling of the primary cell wall is essential for the plant to adapt its growth to environmental stresses. Cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls is synthesized by plasma membrane-localized cellulose synthases moving along cortical microtubule tracks. Recent advancements demonstrate a tight regulation of cellulose synthesis at the primary cell wall by phytohormone networks. Stress-induced perturbations at the cell wall that modify cellulose synthesis and microtubule arrangement activate similar phytohormone-based stress response pathways. The integration of stress perception at the primary cell wall and downstream responses are likely to be tightly regulated by phytohormone signaling pathways in the context of cellulose synthesis and microtubule arrangement.

A look at plant immunity through the window of the multitasking coreceptor BAK1

Recognition of microbe- and danger-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs and DAMPs, respectively) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) is central to innate immunity in both plants and animals. The plant PRRs described to date are all cell surface-localized receptors. According to their ligand-binding ectodomains, each PRR engages a specific coreceptor or adaptor kinase in its signaling complexes to regulate defense signaling. With a focus on the coreceptor RLK BRI1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE1 (BAK1) and related SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR KINASEs (SERKs), here we review the increasing inventory of BAK1 partners and their functions in plant immunity. We also discuss the significance of autoimmunity triggered by BAK1/SERK4 disintegration in shaping the strategies for attenuation of PRR signaling by infectious microbes and host plants.

Receptor Kinases in Plant-Pathogen Interactions: More Than Pattern Recognition

Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and Receptor-like proteins (RLPs) play crucial roles in plant immunity, growth, and development. Plants deploy a large number of RLKs and RLPs as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that detect microbe- and host-derived molecular patterns as the first layer of inducible defense. Recent advances have uncovered novel PRRs, their corresponding ligands, and mechanisms underlying PRR activation and signaling. In general, PRRs associate with other RLKs and function as part of multiprotein immune complexes at the cell surface. Innovative strategies have emerged for the rapid identification of microbial patterns and their cognate PRRs. Successful pathogens can evade or block host recognition by secreting effector proteins to "hide" microbial patterns or inhibit PRR-mediated signaling. Furthermore, newly identified pathogen effectors have been shown to manipulate RLKs controlling growth and development by mimicking peptide hormones of host plants. The ongoing studies illustrate the importance of diverse plant RLKs in plant disease resistance and microbial pathogenesis.

SERKing Coreceptors for Receptors

Plants have evolved a large number of cell surface-resident receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and receptor-like proteins (RLPs), many of which are implicated in sensing extrinsic and intrinsic signals, and govern diverse cellular responses. The signaling pathways mediated by RLKs and RLPs converge at a small group of RLKs, somatic embryogenesis receptor kinases (SERKs), via ligand-induced heterodimerization and transphosphorylation. As shared coreceptors in diverse signaling receptorsomes, SERKs exhibit functional plasticity yet maintain a high degree of signaling specificity. Here, we review recent advances in newly identified SERK functions in plant cell differentiation, growth, and immunity; discuss the regulation and activation mechanisms of SERK-associated receptorsomes; and provide insights into how SERKs maintain signaling specificity as convergent hubs in various signaling pathways.

Receptor-Like Kinases and Regulation of Plant Innate Immunity

Plants are sessile organisms exposed constantly to potential virulent microbes seeking for full pathogenesis in hosts. Different from animals employing both adaptive and innate immune systems, plants only rely on innate immunity to detect and fight against pathogen invasions. Plant innate immunity is proposed to be a two-tiered immune system including pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity. In PTI, PAMPs, the elicitors derived from microbial pathogens, are perceived by cell surface-localized proteins, known as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and receptor-like proteins (RLPs). As single-pass transmembrane proteins, RLKs and RLPs contain an extracellular domain (ECD) responsible for ligand binding. Recognitions of signal molecules by PRR-ECDs induce homo- or heterooligomerization of RLKs and RLPs to trigger corresponding intracellular immune responses. RLKs possess a cytoplasmic Ser/Thr kinase domain that is absent in RLPs, implying that protein phosphorylations underlie key mechanism in transducing immunity signalings and that RLPs unlikely mediate signal transduction independently, and recruitment of other patterns, such as RLKs, is required for the function of RLPs in plant immunity. Receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases, resembling RLK structures but lacking the ECD, act as immediate substrates of PRRs, modulating PRR activities and linking PRRs with downstream signaling mediators. In this chapter, we summarize recent discoveries illustrating the molecular machines of major components of PRR complexes in mediating pathogen perception and immunity activation in plants.

Extracellular Recognition of Oomycetes during Biotrophic Infection of Plants

Extracellular recognition of pathogens by plants constitutes an important early detection system in plant immunity. Microbe-derived molecules, also named patterns, can be recognized by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on the host cell membrane that trigger plant immune responses. Most knowledge on extracellular pathogen detection by plants comes from research on bacterial and fungal pathogens. For oomycetes, that comprise some of the most destructive plant pathogens, mechanisms of extracellular pattern recognition have only emerged recently. These include newly recognized patterns, e.g., cellulose-binding elicitor lectin, necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1-like proteins (NLPs), and glycoside hydrolase 12, as well as their receptors, e.g., the putative elicitin PRR elicitin response and the NLP PRR receptor-like protein 23. Immunity can also be triggered by the release of endogenous host-derived patterns, as a result of oomycete enzymes or damage. In this review we will describe the types of patterns, both pathogen-derived exogenous and plant-derived endogenous ones, and what is known about their extracellular detection during (hemi-)biotrophic oomycete infection of plants.

Reactive Oxygen Species Play a Role in the Infection of the Necrotrophic Fungi, Rhizoctonia solani in Wheat

Rhizoctonia solani is a nectrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes billions of dollars of damage to agriculture worldwide and infects a broad host range including wheat, rice, potato and legumes. In this study we identify wheat genes that are differentially expressed in response to the R. solani isolate, AG8, using microarray technology. A significant number of wheat genes identified in this screen were involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and redox regulation. Levels of ROS species were increased in wheat root tissue following R. solani infection as determined by Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT), 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and titanium sulphate measurements. Pathogen/ROS related genes from R. solani were also tested for expression patterns upon wheat infection. TmpL, a R. solani gene homologous to a gene associated with ROS regulation in Alternaria brassicicola, and OAH, a R. solani gene homologous to oxaloacetate acetylhydrolase which has been shown to produce oxalic acid in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, were highly induced in R. solani when infecting wheat. We speculate that the interplay between the wheat and R. solani ROS generating proteins may be important for determining the outcome of the wheat/R. solani interaction.

RTP1 encodes a novel endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized protein in Arabidopsis and negatively regulates resistance against biotrophic pathogens

Oomycete pathogens cause serious damage to a wide spectrum of plants. Although host pathogen recognition via pathogen effectors and cognate plant resistance proteins is well established, the genetic basis of host factors that mediate plant susceptibility to oomycete pathogens is relatively unexplored. Here, we report on RTP1, a nodulin-related MtN21 family gene in Arabidopsis that mediates susceptibility to Phytophthora parasitica. RTP1 was identified by screening a T-DNA insertion mutant population and encoded an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized protein. Overexpression of RTP1 rendered Arabidopsis more susceptible, whereas RNA silencing of RTP1 led to enhanced resistance to P. parasitica. Moreover, an RTP1 mutant, rtp1-1, displayed localized cell death, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and accelerated PR1 expression, compared to the wild-type Col-0, in response to P. parasitica infection. rtp1-1 showed a similar disease response to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000, including increased disease resistance, cell death and ROS production. Furthermore, rpt1-1 exhibited resistance to the fungal pathogen Golovinomyces cichoracearum, but not to the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Taken together, these results suggest that RTP1 negatively regulates plant resistance to biotrophic pathogens, possibly by regulating ROS production, cell death progression and PR1 expression.

Overexpression of SpWRKY1 promotes resistance to Phytophthora nicotianae and tolerance to salt and drought stress in transgenic tobacco

WRKY transcription factors are key regulatory components of plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. SpWRKY1, a pathogen-induced WRKY gene, was isolated from tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium L3708) using in silico cloning and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. SpWRKY1 expression was significantly induced following oomycete pathogen infection and treatment with salt, drought, salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Overexpression of SpWRKY1 in tobacco conferred greater resistance to Phytophthora nicotianae infection, as evidenced by lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content; relative electrolyte leakage (REL); higher chlorophyll content; and higher peroxidase (POD, EC 1.11.1.7), superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.24) activities. This resistance was also coupled with enhanced expression of SA- and JA-associated genes (NtPR1, NtPR2, NtPR4, NtPR5 and NtPDF1.2), as well as of various defense-related genes (NtPOD, NtSOD and NtPAL). In addition, transgenic tobacco plants also displayed an enhanced tolerance to salt and drought stresses, mainly demonstrated by the transgenic lines exhibiting lower accumulation of MDA content and higher POD (EC 1.11.1.7), SOD (EC 1.15.1.1) activities, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, accompanied by enhanced expression of defense-related genes (NtPOD, NtSOD, NtLEA5, NtP5CS and NtNCED1) under salt and drought stresses. Overall, these findings suggest that SpWRKY1 acts as a positive regulator involved in tobacco defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Systemic responses in a tolerant olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivar upon root colonization by the vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO) is caused by the vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae. One of the best VWO management measures is the use of tolerant cultivars; however, our knowledge on VWO tolerance/resistance genetics is very limited. A transcriptomic analysis was conducted to (i) identify systemic defense responses induced/repressed in aerial tissues of the tolerant cultivar Frantoio upon root colonization by V. dahliae, and (ii) determine the expression pattern of selected defense genes in olive cultivars showing differential susceptibility to VWO. Two suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA libraries, enriched in up-regulated (FU) and down-regulated (FD) genes respectively, were generated from "Frantoio" aerial tissues. Results showed that broad systemic transcriptomic changes are taking place during V. dahliae-"Frantoio" interaction. A total of 585 FU and 381 FD unigenes were identified, many of them involved in defense response to (a)biotic stresses. Selected genes were then used to validate libraries and evaluate their temporal expression pattern in "Frantoio." Four defense genes were analyzed in cultivars Changlot Real (tolerant) and Picual (susceptible). An association between GRAS1 and DRR2 gene expression patterns and susceptibility to VWO was observed, suggesting that these transcripts could be further evaluated as markers of the tolerance level of olive cultivars to V. dahliae.

Phytophthora infestans RXLR-WY Effector AVR3a Associates with Dynamin-Related Protein 2 Required for Endocytosis of the Plant Pattern Recognition Receptor FLS2

Pathogens utilize effectors to suppress basal plant defense known as PTI (Pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity). However, our knowledge of PTI suppression by filamentous plant pathogens, i.e. fungi and oomycetes, remains fragmentary. Previous work revealed that the co-receptor BAK1/SERK3 contributes to basal immunity against the potato pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Moreover BAK1/SERK3 is required for the cell death induced by P. infestans elicitin INF1, a protein with characteristics of PAMPs. The P. infestans host-translocated RXLR-WY effector AVR3a is known to supress INF1-mediated cell death by binding the plant E3 ligase CMPG1. In contrast, AVR3aKI-Y147del, a deletion mutant of the C-terminal tyrosine of AVR3a, fails to bind CMPG1 and does not suppress INF1-mediated cell death. Here, we studied the extent to which AVR3a and its variants perturb additional BAK1/SERK3-dependent PTI responses in N. benthamiana using the elicitor/receptor pair flg22/FLS2 as a model. We found that all tested variants of AVR3a suppress defense responses triggered by flg22 and reduce internalization of activated FLS2. Moreover, we discovered that AVR3a associates with the Dynamin-Related Protein 2 (DRP2), a plant GTPase implicated in receptor-mediated endocytosis. Interestingly, silencing of DRP2 impaired ligand-induced FLS2 internalization but did not affect internalization of the growth receptor BRI1. Our results suggest that AVR3a associates with a key cellular trafficking and membrane-remodeling complex involved in immune receptor-mediated endocytosis. We conclude that AVR3a is a multifunctional effector that can suppress BAK1/SERK3-mediated immunity through at least two different pathways.

Arabidopsis serotonin N-acetyltransferase knockout mutant plants exhibit decreased melatonin and salicylic acid levels resulting in susceptibility to an avirulent pathogen

Serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) is the penultimate enzyme in the melatonin biosynthesis pathway in plants. We examined the effects of SNAT gene inactivation in two Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion mutant lines. After inoculation with the avirulent pathogen Pseudomonas syringe pv. tomato DC3000 harboring the elicitor avrRpt2 (Pst-avrRpt2), melatonin levels in the snat knockout mutant lines were 50% less than in wild-type Arabidopsis Col-0 plants. The snat knockout mutant lines exhibited susceptibility to pathogen infection that coincided with decreased induction of defense genes including PR1, ICS1, and PDF1.2. Because melatonin acts upstream of salicylic acid (SA) synthesis, the reduced melatonin levels in the snat mutant lines led to decreased SA levels compared to wild-type, suggesting that the increased pathogen susceptibility of the snat mutant lines could be attributed to decreased SA levels and subsequent attenuation of defense gene induction. Exogenous melatonin treatment failed to induce defense gene expression in nahG Arabidopsis plants, but restored the induction of defense gene expression in the snat mutant lines. In addition, melatonin caused translocation of NPR1 (nonexpressor of PR1) protein from the cytoplasm into the nucleus indicating that melatonin-elicited pathogen resistance in response to avirulent pathogen attack is SA-dependent in Arabidopsis.

What lies beneath: belowground defense strategies in plants

Diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens result worldwide in significant yield losses in economically important crops. In contrast to foliar diseases, relatively little is known about the nature of root defenses against these pathogens. This review summarizes the current knowledge on root infection strategies, root-specific preformed barriers, pathogen recognition, and defense signaling. Studies reviewed here suggest that many commonalities as well as differences exist in defense strategies employed by roots and foliar tissues during pathogen attack. Importantly, in addition to pathogens, plant roots interact with a plethora of non-pathogenic and symbiotic microorganisms. Therefore, a good understanding of how plant roots interact with the microbiome would be particularly important to engineer resistance to root pathogens without negatively altering root-beneficial microbe interactions.

Nonhost resistance to rust pathogens - a continuation of continua

The rust fungi (order: Pucciniales) are a group of widely distributed fungal plant pathogens, which can infect representatives of all vascular plant groups. Rust diseases significantly impact several crop species and considerable research focuses on understanding the basis of host specificity and nonhost resistance. Like many pathogens, rust fungi vary considerably in the number of hosts they can infect, such as wheat leaf rust (Puccinia triticina), which can only infect species in the genera Triticum and Aegilops, whereas Asian soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) is known to infect over 95 species from over 42 genera. A greater understanding of the genetic basis determining host range has the potential to identify sources of durable resistance for agronomically important crops. Delimiting the boundary between host and nonhost has been complicated by the quantitative nature of phenotypes in the transition between these two states. Plant-pathogen interactions in this intermediate state are characterized either by (1) the majority of accessions of a species being resistant to the rust or (2) the rust only being able to partially complete key components of its life cycle. This leads to a continuum of disease phenotypes in the interaction with different plant species, observed as a range from compatibility (host) to complete immunity within a species (nonhost). In this review we will highlight how the quantitative nature of disease resistance in these intermediate interactions is caused by a continuum of defense barriers, which a pathogen needs to overcome for successfully establishing itself in the host. To illustrate continua as this underlying principle, we will discuss the advances that have been made in studying nonhost resistance towards rust pathogens, particularly cereal rust pathogens.

Melatonin as a signal molecule triggering defense responses against pathogen attack in Arabidopsis and tobacco

Melatonin plays pleiotropic roles in both animals and plants. The possible role of melatonin in plant innate immune responses was recently discovered. As an initial study, we employed Arabidopsis to determine whether melatonin is involved in defense against the virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae DC3000. The application of a 10 μM concentration of melatonin on Arabidopsis and tobacco leaves induced various pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, as well as a series of defense genes activated by salicylic acid (SA) and ethylene (ET), two key factors involved in plant defense response, compared to mock-treated leaves. The induction of these defense-related genes in melatonin-treated Arabidopsis matched an increase in resistance against the bacterium by suppressing its multiplication about ten-fold relative to the mock-treated Arabidopsis. Like melatonin, N-acetylserotonin also plays a role in inducing a series of defense genes, although serotonin does not. Furthermore, melatonin-induced PR genes were almost completely or partially suppressed in the npr1, ein2, and mpk6 Arabidopsis mutants, indicative of SA and ET dependency in melatonin-induced plant defense signaling. This suggests that melatonin may be a novel defense signaling molecule in plant-pathogen interactions.

GroEL from the endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola betrays the aphid by triggering plant defense

Aphids are sap-feeding plant pests and harbor the endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola, which is essential for their fecundity and survival. During plant penetration and feeding, aphids secrete saliva that contains proteins predicted to alter plant defenses and metabolism. Plants recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns and induce pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). No aphid-associated molecular pattern has yet been identified. By mass spectrometry, we identified in saliva from potato aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) 105 proteins, some of which originated from Buchnera, including the chaperonin GroEL. Because GroEL is a widely conserved bacterial protein with an essential function, we tested its role in PTI. Applying or infiltrating GroEL onto Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves induced oxidative burst and expression of PTI early marker genes. These GroEL-induced defense responses required the known coreceptor BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE 1. In addition, in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, inducible expression of groEL activated PTI marker gene expression. Moreover, Arabidopsis plants expressing groEL displayed reduced fecundity of the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), indicating enhanced resistance against aphids. Furthermore, delivery of GroEL into tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) or Arabidopsis through Pseudomonas fluorescens, engineered to express the type III secretion system, also reduced potato aphid and green peach aphid fecundity, respectively. Collectively our data indicate that GroEL is a molecular pattern that triggers PTI.

Phytophthora parasitica: a model oomycete plant pathogen

Oomycetes are eukaryotic microorganisms morphologically similar to but phylogenetically distant from true fungi. Most species in the genus Phytophthora of oomycetes are devastating plant pathogens, causing damages to both agricultural production and natural ecosystems. Tremendous progress has been achieved in recent years in diversity, evolution and lifestyles of oomycete plant pathogens, as well as on the understanding of genetic and molecular basis of oomycete-plant interactions. Phytophthora parasitica is a soilborne pathogen with a wide range of host plants and represents most species in the genus Phytophthora. In this review, we present some recent progress of P. parasitica research by highlighting important features that make it emerge as a model species of oomycete pathogens. The emerged model pathogen will facilitate improved understanding of oomycete biology and pathology that are crucial to the development of novel disease-control strategies and improved disease-control measures.

Root endophyte symbiosis in vitro between the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake and the arbuscular mycorrhizal plant Prunus speciosa

We previously reported that Tricholoma matsutake and Tricholoma fulvocastaneum, ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes that associate with Pinaceae and Fagaceae, respectively, in the Northern Hemisphere, could interact in vitro as a root endophyte of somatic plants of Cedrela odorata (Meliaceae), which naturally harbors arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in South America, to form a characteristic rhizospheric colony or "shiro". We questioned whether this phenomenon could have occurred because of plant-microbe interactions between geographically separated species that never encounter one another in nature. In the present study, we document that these fungi formed root endophyte interactions and shiro within 140 days of inoculation with somatic plants of Prunus speciosa (=Cerasus speciosa, Rosaceae), a wild cherry tree that naturally harbors arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Japan. Compared with C. odorata, infected P. speciosa plants had less mycelial sheath surrounding the exodermis, and the older the roots, especially main roots, the more hyphae penetrated. In addition, a large number of juvenile roots were not associated with hyphae. We concluded that such root endophyte interactions were not events isolated to the interactions between exotic plants and microbes but could occur generally in vitro. Our pure culture system with a somatic plant allowed these fungi to express symbiosis-related phenotypes that varied with the plant host; these traits are innately programmed but suppressed in nature and could be useful in genetic analyses of plant-fungal symbiosis.