scholarly journals The tomato receptor CuRe1 senses a cell wall protein to identify Cuscuta as a pathogen

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Hegenauer ◽  
Peter Slaby ◽  
Max Körner ◽  
Julien-Alexander Bruckmüller ◽  
Ronja Burggraf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Parasitic Plants ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Peptide Epitope ◽  
Molecular Pattern ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Membrane Bound ◽  
Glycine Rich Protein

Abstract Parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta penetrate shoots of host plants with haustoria and build a connection to the host vasculature to exhaust water, solutes and carbohydrates. Such infections usually stay unrecognized by the host and lead to harmful host plant damage. Here, we show a molecular mechanism of how plants can sense parasitic Cuscuta. We isolated an 11 kDa protein of the parasite cell wall and identified it as a glycine-rich protein (GRP). This GRP, as well as its minimal peptide epitope Crip21, serve as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern and specifically bind and activate a membrane-bound immune receptor of tomato, the Cuscuta Receptor 1 (CuRe1), leading to defense responses in resistant hosts. These findings provide the initial steps to understand the resistance mechanisms against parasitic plants and further offer great potential for protecting crops by engineering resistance against parasitic plants.

scholarly journals The Effect of Virulence and Resistance Mechanisms on the Interactions between Parasitic Plants and Their Hosts

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 9013
Author(s):  
Luyang Hu ◽  
Jiansu Wang ◽  
Chong Yang ◽  
Faisal Islam ◽  
Harro Bouwmeester ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Parasitic Plants ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Parasitic Plant ◽  
Parasitic Weeds ◽  
Rnai Silencing ◽  
Plant Microbe Interaction ◽  
Crop Varieties ◽  
Evolution Of Virulence

Parasitic plants have a unique heterotrophic lifestyle based on the extraction of water and nutrients from host plants. Some parasitic plant species, particularly those of the family Orobanchaceae, attack crops and cause substantial yield losses. The breeding of resistant crop varieties is an inexpensive way to control parasitic weeds, but often does not provide a long-lasting solution because the parasites rapidly evolve to overcome resistance. Understanding mechanisms underlying naturally occurring parasitic plant resistance is of great interest and could help to develop methods to control parasitic plants. In this review, we describe the virulence mechanisms of parasitic plants and resistance mechanisms in their hosts, focusing on obligate root parasites of the genera Orobanche and Striga. We noticed that the resistance (R) genes in the host genome often encode proteins with nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat domains (NLR proteins), hence we proposed a mechanism by which host plants use NLR proteins to activate downstream resistance gene expression. We speculated how parasitic plants and their hosts co-evolved and discussed what drives the evolution of virulence effectors in parasitic plants by considering concepts from similar studies of plant–microbe interaction. Most previous studies have focused on the host rather than the parasite, so we also provided an updated summary of genomic resources for parasitic plants and parasitic genes for further research to test our hypotheses. Finally, we discussed new approaches such as CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and RNAi silencing that can provide deeper insight into the intriguing life cycle of parasitic plants and could potentially contribute to the development of novel strategies for controlling parasitic weeds, thereby enhancing crop productivity and food security globally.

A role for a cell wall localized glycine-rich protein in dehydration and rehydration of the resurrection plantBoea hygrometrica

Plant Biology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wang ◽  
H. Shang ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
M. Zheng ◽  
R. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Glycine Rich Protein

scholarly journals Fusarium graminearum FgCWM1 Encodes a Cell Wall Mannoprotein Conferring Sensitivity to Salicylic Acid and Virulence to Wheat

Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Zhou Zhang ◽  
Qing Chen ◽  
Cai-Hong Liu ◽  
Lu Lei ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Salicylic Acid ◽  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Protein Accumulation ◽  
Head Blight ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
A Cell

Fusarium graminearum causes Fusarium head blight (FHB), a devastating disease of wheat. Salicylic acid (SA) is involved in the resistance of wheat to F. graminearum. Cell wall mannoprotein (CWM) is known to trigger defense responses in plants, but its role in the pathogenicity of F. graminearum remains unclear. Here, we characterized FgCWM1 (FG05_11315), encoding a CWM in F. graminearum. FgCWM1 was highly expressed in wheat spikes by 24 h after initial inoculation and was upregulated by SA. Disruption of FgCWM1 (ΔFgCWM1) reduced mannose and protein accumulation in the fungal cell wall, especially under SA treatment, and resulted in defective fungal cell walls, leading to increased fungal sensitivity to SA. The positive role of FgCWM1 in mannose and protein accumulation was confirmed by its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Compared with wild type (WT), ΔFgCWM1 exhibited reduced pathogenicity toward wheat, but it produced the same amount of deoxynivalenol both in culture and in spikes. Complementation of ΔFgCWM1 with FgCWM1 restored the WT phenotype. Localization analyses revealed that FgCWM1 was distributed on the cell wall, consistent with its structural role. Thus, FgCWM1 encodes a CWM protein that plays an important role in the cell wall integrity and pathogenicity of F. graminearum.

scholarly journals Genetic and structural validation of phosphomannomutase as a cell wall target in Aspergillus fumigatus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanwei Zhang ◽  
Wenxia Fang ◽  
Olawale G. Raimi ◽  
Deborah E. A. Lockhart ◽  
Andrew T. Ferenbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Structural Validation

scholarly journals Sorting out the Superbugs: Potential of Sortase A Inhibitors among Other Antimicrobial Strategies to Tackle the Problem of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Zrelovs ◽  
Viktorija Kurbatska ◽  
Zhanna Rudevica ◽  
Ainars Leonchiks ◽  
Davids Fridmanis
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Sortase A ◽  
Inhibitory Compounds ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Conventional Antibiotics

Rapid spread of antibiotic resistance throughout the kingdom bacteria is inevitably bringing humanity towards the “post-antibiotic” era. The emergence of so-called “superbugs”—pathogen strains that develop resistance to multiple conventional antibiotics—is urging researchers around the globe to work on the development or perfecting of alternative means of tackling the pathogenic bacteria infections. Although various conceptually different approaches are being considered, each comes with its advantages and drawbacks. While drug-resistant pathogens are undoubtedly represented by both Gram(+) and Gram(−) bacteria, possible target spectrum across the proposed alternative approaches of tackling them is variable. Numerous anti-virulence strategies aimed at reducing the pathogenicity of target bacteria rather than eliminating them are being considered among such alternative approaches. Sortase A (SrtA) is a membrane-associated cysteine protease that catalyzes a cell wall sorting reaction by which surface proteins, including virulence factors, are anchored to the bacterial cell wall of Gram(+) bacteria. Although SrtA inhibition seems perspective among the Gram-positive pathogen-targeted antivirulence strategies, it still remains less popular than other alternatives. A decrease in virulence due to inactivation of SrtA activity has been extensively studied in Staphylococcus aureus, but it has also been demonstrated in other Gram(+) species. In this manuscript, results of past studies on the discovery of novel SrtA inhibitory compounds and evaluation of their potency were summarized and commented on. Here, we discussed the rationale behind the inhibition of SrtA, raised some concerns on the comparability of the results from different studies, and touched upon the possible resistance mechanisms as a response to implementation of such therapy in practice. The goal of this article is to encourage further studies of SrtA inhibitory compounds.

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