A cerato-platanin protein SsCP1 targets plant PR1 and contributes to virulence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

TY - JOUR

T1 - A cerato-platanin protein SsCP1 targets plant PR1 and contributes to virulence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

AU - Yang, Guogen

AU - Tang, Liguang

AU - Gong, Yingdi

AU - Xie, Jiatao

AU - Fu, Yanping

AU - Jiang, Daohong

AU - Li, Guoqing

AU - Collinge, David B.

AU - Chen, Weidong

AU - Cheng, Jiasen

N1 - © 2017 State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

PY - 2018/1

Y1 - 2018/1

N2 - Cerato-platanin proteins (CPs), which are secreted by filamentous fungi, are phytotoxic to host plants, but their functions have not been well defined to date. Here we characterized a CP (SsCP1) from the necrotrophic phytopathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Sscp1 transcripts accumulated during plant infection, and deletion of Sscp1 significantly reduced virulence. SsCP1 could induce significant cell death when expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Using yeast two-hybrid, GST pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation and bimolecular florescence complementation, we found that SsCP1 interacts with PR1 in the apoplast to facilitate infection by S. sclerotiorum. Overexpressing PR1 enhanced resistance to the wild-type strain, but not to the Sscp1 knockout strain of S. sclerotiorum. Sscp1-expressing transgenic plants showed increased concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) and higher levels of resistance to several plant pathogens (namely Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria brassicicola and Golovinomyces orontii). Our results suggest that SsCP1 is important for virulence of S. sclerotiorum and that it can be recognized by plants to trigger plant defense responses. Our results also suggest that the SA signaling pathway is involved in CP-mediated plant defense .

AB - Cerato-platanin proteins (CPs), which are secreted by filamentous fungi, are phytotoxic to host plants, but their functions have not been well defined to date. Here we characterized a CP (SsCP1) from the necrotrophic phytopathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Sscp1 transcripts accumulated during plant infection, and deletion of Sscp1 significantly reduced virulence. SsCP1 could induce significant cell death when expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Using yeast two-hybrid, GST pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation and bimolecular florescence complementation, we found that SsCP1 interacts with PR1 in the apoplast to facilitate infection by S. sclerotiorum. Overexpressing PR1 enhanced resistance to the wild-type strain, but not to the Sscp1 knockout strain of S. sclerotiorum. Sscp1-expressing transgenic plants showed increased concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) and higher levels of resistance to several plant pathogens (namely Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria brassicicola and Golovinomyces orontii). Our results suggest that SsCP1 is important for virulence of S. sclerotiorum and that it can be recognized by plants to trigger plant defense responses. Our results also suggest that the SA signaling pathway is involved in CP-mediated plant defense .

U2 - 10.1111/nph.14842

DO - 10.1111/nph.14842

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29076546

SN - 0028-646X

VL - 217

SP - 739

EP - 755

JO - New Phytologist

JF - New Phytologist

IS - 2

ER -