scholarly journals What the Wild Things Do: Mechanisms of Plant Host Manipulation by Bacterial Type III-Secreted Effector Proteins

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
Karl J. Schreiber ◽  
Ilea J. Chau-Ly ◽  
Jennifer D. Lewis

Phytopathogenic bacteria possess an arsenal of effector proteins that enable them to subvert host recognition and manipulate the host to promote pathogen fitness. The type III secretion system (T3SS) delivers type III-secreted effector proteins (T3SEs) from bacterial pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae, Ralstonia solanacearum, and various Xanthomonas species. These T3SEs interact with and modify a range of intracellular host targets to alter their activity and thereby attenuate host immune signaling. Pathogens have evolved T3SEs with diverse biochemical activities, which can be difficult to predict in the absence of structural data. Interestingly, several T3SEs are activated following injection into the host cell. Here, we review T3SEs with documented enzymatic activities, as well as T3SEs that facilitate virulence-promoting processes either indirectly or through non-enzymatic mechanisms. We discuss the mechanisms by which T3SEs are activated in the cell, as well as how T3SEs modify host targets to promote virulence or trigger immunity. These mechanisms may suggest common enzymatic activities and convergent targets that could be manipulated to protect crop plants from infection.

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Clarke ◽  
Rongman Cai ◽  
David J. Studholme ◽  
David S. Guttman ◽  
Boris A. Vinatzer

Pseudomonas syringae is best known as a plant pathogen that causes disease by translocating immune-suppressing effector proteins into plant cells through a type III secretion system (T3SS). However, P. syringae strains belonging to a newly described phylogenetic subgroup (group 2c) are missing the canonical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster coding for a T3SS, flanking effector loci, and any close orthologue of known P. syringae effectors. Nonetheless, P. syringae group 2c strains are common leaf colonizers and grow on some tested plant species to population densities higher than those obtained by other P. syringae strains on nonhost species. Moreover, group 2c strains have genes necessary for the production of phytotoxins, have an ice nucleation gene, and, most interestingly, contain a novel hrp/hrc cluster, which is only distantly related to the canonical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster. This hrp/hrc cluster appears to encode a functional T3SS although the genes hrpK and hrpS, present in the classical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster, are missing. The genome sequence of a representative group 2c strain also revealed distant orthologues of the P. syringae effector genes avrE1 and hopM1 and the P. aeruginosa effector genes exoU and exoY. A putative life cycle for group 2c P. syringae is discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Baltrus ◽  
Qian Feng ◽  
Brian H Kvitko

Integrative Conjugative Elements (ICEs) are replicons that can insert and excise from chromosomal locations in a site specific manner, can conjugate across strains, and which often carry a variety of genes useful for bacterial growth and survival under specific conditions. Although ICEs have been identified and vetted within certain clades of the agricultural pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, the impact of ICE carriage and transfer across the entire P. syringae species complex remains underexplored. Here we identify and vet an ICE (PmaICE-DQ) from P. syringae pv. maculicola ES4326, a strain commonly used for laboratory virulence experiments, demonstrate that this element can excise and conjugate across strains, and contains loci encoding multiple type III effector proteins. Moreover, genome context suggests that another ICE (PmaICE-AOAB) is highly similar in comparison with and found immediately adjacent to PmaICE-DQ within the chromosome of strain ES4326, and also contains multiple type III effectors. Lastly, we present passage data from in planta experiments that suggests that genomic plasticity associated with ICEs may enable strains to more rapidly lose type III effectors that trigger R-gene mediated resistance in comparison to strains where nearly isogenic effectors are not present in ICEs. Taken together, our study sheds light on a set of ICE elements from P. syringae pv. maculicola ES4326 and highlights how genomic context may lead to different evolutionary dynamics for shared virulence genes between strains.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Furutani ◽  
Minako Takaoka ◽  
Harumi Sanada ◽  
Yukari Noguchi ◽  
Takashi Oku ◽  
...  

Many gram-negative bacteria secrete so-called effector proteins via a type III secretion (T3S) system. Through genome screening for genes encoding potential T3S effectors, 60 candidates were selected from rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae MAFF311018 using these criteria: i) homologs of known T3S effectors in plant-pathogenic bacteria, ii) genes with expression regulated by hrp regulatory protein HrpX, or iii) proteins with N-terminal amino acid patterns associated with T3S substrates of Pseudomonas syringae. Of effector candidates tested with the Bordetella pertussis calmodulin-dependent adenylate cyclase reporter for translocation into plant cells, 16 proteins were translocated in a T3S system-dependent manner. Of these 16 proteins, nine were homologs of known effectors in other plant-pathogenic bacteria and seven were not. Most of the effectors were widely conserved in Xanthomonas spp.; however, some were specific to X. oryzae. Interestingly, all these effectors were expressed in an HrpX-dependent manner, suggesting coregulation of effectors and the T3S system. In X. campestris pv. vesicatoria, HpaB and HpaC (HpaP in X. oryzae pv. oryzae) have a central role in recruiting T3S substrates to the secretion apparatus. Secretion of all but one effector was reduced in both HpaB– and HpaP– mutant strains, indicating that HpaB and HpaP are widely involved in efficient secretion of the effectors.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 651-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgy Popov ◽  
Malou Fraiture ◽  
Frederic Brunner ◽  
Guido Sessa

Xanthomonas euvesicatoria is the causal agent of bacterial spot disease in pepper and tomato. X. euvesicatoria bacteria interfere with plant cellular processes by injecting effector proteins into host cells through the type III secretion (T3S) system. About 35 T3S effectors have been identified in X. euvesicatoria 85-10, and a few of them were implicated in suppression of pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). We used an Arabidopsis thaliana pathogen-free protoplast–based assay to identify X. euvesicatoria 85-10 effectors that interfere with PTI signaling induced by the bacterial peptide flg22. Of 33 tested effectors, 17 inhibited activation of a PTI-inducible promoter. Among them, nine effectors also interfered with activation of an abscisic acid–inducible promoter. However, effectors that inhibited flg22-induced signaling did not affect phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases acting downstream of flg22 perception. Further investigation of selected effectors revealed that XopAJ, XopE2, and XopF2 inhibited activation of a PTI-inducible promoter by the bacterial peptide elf18 in Arabidopsis protoplasts and by flg22 in tomato protoplasts. The effectors XopF2, XopE2, XopAP, XopAE, XopH, and XopAJ inhibited flg22-induced callose deposition in planta and enhanced disease symptoms caused by attenuated Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. Finally, selected effectors were found to localize to various plant subcellular compartments. These results indicate that X. euvesicatoria bacteria utilize multiple T3S effectors to suppress flg22-induced signaling acting downstream or in parallel to MAP kinase cascades and suggest they act through different molecular mechanisms.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 927-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Deng ◽  
Lefu Lan ◽  
Yanmei Xiao ◽  
Megan Kennelly ◽  
Jian-Min Zhou ◽  
...  

The two-component system RhpRS was identified in Pseudomonas syringae as a regulator of the genes encoding the type III secretion system and type III effector proteins (together called the T3 genes). In the absence of the sensor kinase RhpS, the response regulator RhpR represses the induction of the T3 gene regulatory cascade consisting of hrpRS, hrpL, and the T3 genes in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. The repressor activity of RhpR is inhibited by RhpS, which presumably acts as a phosphatase under the T3 gene inducing conditions. Here, we show that RhpR binds and induces its own promoter in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Deletion and mutagenesis analyses revealed an inverted repeat (IR) element, GTATC-N6-GATAC, in the rhpR promoter that confers the RhpR-dependent induction. Computational search of the P. syringae genomes for the putative IR elements and Northern blot analysis of the genes with a putative IR element in the promoter region uncovered five genes that were upregulated and two genes that were downregulated in an RhpR-dependent manner. Two genes that were strongly induced by RhpR were assayed for the IR element activity in gene regulation and, in both cases, the IR element mediated the RhpR-dependent gene induction. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicated that RhpR binds the promoters containing a putative IR element but not the hrpR and hrpL promoters that do not have an IR element, suggesting that RhpR indirectly regulates the transcriptional cascade of hrpRS, hrpL, and the T3 genes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (9) ◽  
pp. 3120-3131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne E. Morello ◽  
Alan Collmer

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas syringae delivers virulence effector proteins into plant cells via an Hrp1 type III secretion system (T3SS). P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 HrpP has a C-terminal, putative T3SS substrate specificity switch domain, like Yersinia YscP. A ΔhrpP DC3000 mutant could not cause disease in tomato or elicit a hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco, but the HR could be restored by expression of HrpP in trans. Though HrpP is a relatively divergent protein in the T3SS of different P. syringae pathovars, hrpP from P. syringae pv. syringae 61 and P. syringae pv. phaseolicola 1448A restored HR elicitation and pathogenicity to DC3000 ΔhrpP. HrpP was translocated into Nicotiana benthamiana cells via the DC3000 T3SS when expressed from its native promoter, but it was not secreted in culture. N- and C-terminal truncations of HrpP were tested for their ability to be translocated and to restore HR elicitation activity to the ΔhrpP mutant. No N-terminal truncation completely abolished translocation, implying that HrpP has an atypical T3SS translocation signal. Deleting more than 20 amino acids from the C terminus abolished the ability to restore HR elicitation. HrpP fused to green fluorescent protein was no longer translocated but could restore HR elicitation activity to the ΔhrpP mutant, suggesting that translocation is not essential for the function of HrpP. No T3SS substrates were detectably secreted by DC3000 ΔhrpP except the pilin subunit HrpA, which unexpectedly was secreted poorly. HrpP may function somewhat differently than YscP because the P. syringae T3SS pilus likely varies in length due to differing plant cell walls.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (15) ◽  
pp. 5773-5778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adela R. Ramos ◽  
Joanne E. Morello ◽  
Sandeep Ravindran ◽  
Wen-Ling Deng ◽  
Hsiou-Chen Huang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas syringae translocates effector proteins into plant cells via an Hrp1 type III secretion system (T3SS). T3SS components HrpB, HrpD, HrpF, and HrpP were shown to be pathway substrates and to contribute to elicitation of the plant hypersensitive response and to translocation and secretion of the model effector AvrPto1.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Brown ◽  
John W. Mansfield ◽  
Suvi Taira ◽  
Elina Roine ◽  
Martin Romantschuk

The Hrp pilus, composed of HrpA subunits, is an essential component of the type III secretion system in Pseudomonas syringae. We used electron microscopy (EM) and immunocytochemistry to examine production of the pilus in vitro from P. syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 grown under hrp-inducing conditions on EM grids. Pili, when labeled with antibodies to HrpA, developed rapidly in a nonpolar manner shortly after the detection of the hrpA transcript and extended up to 5 μm into surrounding media. Structures at the base of the pilus were clearly differentiated from the basal bodies of flagella. The HrpZ protein, also secreted via the type III system, was found by immunogold labeling to be associated with the pilus in vitro. Accumulation and secretion of HrpA and HrpZ were also examined quantitatively after the inoculation of wild-type DC3000 and hrpA and hrpZ mutants into leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. The functional pilus crossed the plant cell wall to generate tracks of immunogold labeling for HrpA and HrpZ. Mutants that produced HrpA but did not assemble pili were nonpathogenic, did not secrete HrpA protein, and were compromised for the accumulation of HrpZ. A model is proposed in which the rapidly elongating Hrp pilus acts as a moving conveyor, facilitating transfer of effector proteins from bacteria to the plant cytoplasm across the formidable barrier of the plant cell wall.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 1340-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Noël ◽  
Frank Thieme ◽  
Dirk Nennstiel ◽  
Ulla Bonas

ABSTRACT The Hrp type III protein secretion system (TTSS) is essential for pathogenicity of gram-negative plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism and reverse transcription-PCR analyses identified new genes, regulated by key hrp regulator HrpG, in the regions flanking the hrp gene cluster. Sequence analysis revealed genes encoding HpaG, a predicted leucine-rich repeat-containing protein, the lysozyme-like HpaH protein, and XopA and XopD, which are similar in sequence to Hpa1 from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and PsvA from Pseudomonas syringae, respectively. XopA and XopD (Xanthomonas outer proteins) are secreted by the Xanthomonas Hrp TTSS and thus represent putative effector proteins. Mutations in xopA, but not in xopD, resulted in reduced bacterial growth in planta and delayed plant reactions in susceptible and resistant host plants. Since the xopD promoter contains a putative hrp box, which is characteristic of hrpL-regulated genes in P. syringae and Erwinia spp., the gene was probably acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Interestingly, the regions flanking the hrp gene cluster also contain insertion sequences and genes for a putative transposase and a tRNAArg. These features suggest that the hrp gene cluster of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria is part of a pathogenicity island.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Huei-Yi Lee ◽  
D. Patrick Bastedo ◽  
Timothy Lo ◽  
Maggie A. Middleton ◽  
Ji-Young Youn ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGram-negative bacterial pathogens inject type III secreted effectors (T3SEs) directly into host cells to promote pathogen fitness by manipulating host cellular processes. Despite their crucial role in promoting virulence, relatively few T3SEs have well-characterized enzymatic activities or host targets. This is in part due to functional redundancy within pathogen T3SE repertoires as well as promiscuous individual T3SEs that can have multiple host targets. To overcome these challenges, we conducted heterologous genetic screens in yeast, a non-host organism, to identify T3SEs that target conserved eukaryotic processes. We screened 75 T3SEs from the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and identified 16 that inhibited yeast growth on rich media and eight that inhibited growth on stress-inducing media, including the acetyltransferase HopZ1a. We focused our further analysis on HopZ1a, which interacts with plant tubulin and alters microtubule networks. We first performed a Pathogenic Genetic Array (PGA) screen of HopZ1a against ~4400 yeast carrying non-essential mutations and found 95 and 10 deletion mutants which reduced or enhanced HopZ1a toxicity, respectively. To uncover putative HopZ1a host targets, we interrogated both the genetic- and physical-interaction profiles of HopZ1a by identifying yeast genes with PGA profiles most similar (i.e. congruent) to that of HopZ1a, performing a functional enrichment analysis of these HopZ1a-congruent genes, and by analyzing previously described HopZ physical interaction datasets. Finally, we demonstrated that HopZ1a can target kinesins by acetylating the plant kinesins HINKEL and MKRP1.ARTICLE SUMMARYBacterial pathogens utilize secretion systems to directly deliver effector proteins into host cells, with the ultimate goal of promoting pathogen fitness. Despite the central role that effectors play in infection, the molecular function and host targets of most effectors remain uncharacterized. We used yeast genomics and protein interaction data to identify putative virulence targets of the effector HopZ1a from the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. HopZ1a is an acetyltransferase that induces plant microtubule destruction. We showed that HopZ1a acetylated plant kinesin proteins known to regulate microtubule networks. Our study emphasizes the power of yeast functional genomic screens to characterize effector functions.


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