Nematode-secreted peptides and host factor mimicry

This article comments on: Kim J, Yang R, Chang C, Park Y, Tucker ML. 2018. The root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) produces a functional mimic of the Arabidopsis IDA signaling peptide. Journal of Experimental Botany 69, 3009–3021.

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita produces a functional mimic of the Arabidopsis INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION signaling peptide

INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA) is a signaling peptide that regulates cell separation in Arabidopsis including floral organ abscission and lateral root emergence. IDA is highly conserved in dicotyledonous flowering plant genomes. IDA-like sequences were also found in the genomic sequences of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., which are globally deleterious pathogens of agriculturally important plants, but the role of these genes is unknown. Exogenous treatment of the Arabidopsis ida mutant with synthetic peptide identical to the M. incognita IDA-like 1 (MiIDL1) protein sequence minus its N-terminal signal peptide recovered both the abscission and root architecture defects. Constitutive expression of the full-length MiIDL1 open reading frame in the ida mutant substantially recovered the delayed floral organ abscission phenotype whereas transformants expressing a construct missing the MiIDL1 signal peptide retained the delayed abscission phenotype. Importantly, wild-type Arabidopsis plants harboring an MiIDL1-RNAi construct and infected with nematodes had approximately 40% fewer galls per root than control plants. Thus, the MiIDL1 gene produces a functional IDA mimic that appears to play a role in successful gall development on Arabidopsis roots.