Matthew Smoker

Interfamily transfer of a plant pattern-recognition receptor confers broad-spectrum bacterial resistance

Plant diseases cause massive losses in agriculture. Increasing the natural defenses of plants may reduce the impact of phytopathogens on agricultural productivity. Pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) detect microbes by recognizing conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Although the overall importance of PAMP-triggered immunity for plant defense is established, it has not been used to confer disease resistance in crops. We report that activity of a PRR is retained after its transfer between two plant families. Expression of EFR (ref. 4), a PRR from the cruciferous plant Arabidopsis thaliana, confers responsiveness to bacterial elongation factor Tu in the solanaceous plants Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), making them more resistant to a range of phytopathogenic bacteria from different genera. Our results in controlled laboratory conditions suggest that heterologous expression of PAMP recognition systems could be used to engineer broad-spectrum disease resistance to important bacterial pathogens, potentially enabling more durable and sustainable resistance in the field.

Ancient class of translocated oomycete effectors targets the host nucleus

Pathogens use specialized secretion systems and targeting signals to translocate effector proteins inside host cells, a process that is essential for promoting disease and parasitism. However, the amino acid sequences that determine host delivery of eukaryotic pathogen effectors remain mostly unknown. The Crinkler (CRN) proteins of oomycete plant pathogens, such as the Irish potato famine organism Phytophthora infestans, are modular proteins with predicted secretion signals and conserved N-terminal sequence motifs. Here, we provide direct evidence that CRN N termini mediate protein transport into plant cells. CRN host translocation requires a conserved motif that is present in all examined plant pathogenic oomycetes, including the phylogenetically divergent species Aphanomyces euteiches that does not form haustoria, specialized infection structures that have been implicated previously in delivery of effectors. Several distinct CRN C termini localized to plant nuclei and, in the case of CRN8, required nuclear accumulation to induce plant cell death. These results reveal a large family of ubiquitous oomycete effector proteins that target the host nucleus. Oomycetes appear to have acquired the ability to translocate effector proteins inside plant cells relatively early in their evolution and before the emergence of haustoria. Finally, this work further implicates the host nucleus as an important cellular compartment where the fate of plant–microbe interactions is determined.

CITRX thioredoxin interacts with the tomato Cf‐9 resistance protein and negatively regulates defence

To identify proteins involved in tomato Cf‐9 resistance protein function, a yeast two‐hybrid screen was undertaken using the cytoplasmic C‐terminus of Cf‐9 as bait. A thioredoxin‐homologous clone, interacting specifically with Cf‐9, was identified and called CITRX (Cf‐9‐interacting thioredoxin). Virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) of CITRX resulted in an accelerated Cf‐9/Avr9‐triggered hypersensitive response in both tomato and Nicotiana benthamiana, accompanied by enhanced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, alteration of protein kinase activity and induction of defence‐related genes. VIGS of CITRX also conferred increased resistance to the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum in the otherwise susceptible Cf0 tomato. CITRX acts as a negative regulator of the cell death and defence responses induced through Cf‐9, but not Cf‐2. Recognition of the Cf‐9 C‐terminus by CITRX is necessary and sufficient for this negative regulation. This is the first study that implicates thioredoxin activity in the regulation of plant disease resistance.

Domain Swapping and Gene Shuffling Identify Sequences Required for Induction of an Avr-Dependent Hypersensitive Response by the Tomato Cf-4 and Cf-9 Proteins

The tomato Cf-4 and Cf-9 genes confer resistance to infection by the biotrophic leaf mold pathogen Cladosporium. Their protein products induce a hypersensitive response (HR) upon recognition of the fungus-encoded Avr4 and Avr9 peptides. Cf-4 and Cf-9 share >91% sequence identity and are distinguished by sequences in their N-terminal domains A and B, their N-terminal leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) in domain C1, and their LRR copy number (25 and 27 LRRs, respectively). Analysis of Cf-4/Cf-9 chimeras, using several different bioassays, has identified sequences in Cf-4 and Cf-9 that are required for the Avr-dependent HR in tobacco and tomato. A 10–amino acid deletion within Cf-4 domain B relative to Cf-9 was required for full Avr4-dependent induction of an HR in most chimeras analyzed. Additional sequences required for Cf-4 function are located in LRRs 11 and 12, a region that contains only eight of the 67 amino acids that distinguish it from Cf-9. One chimera, with 25 LRRs that retained LRR 11 of Cf-4, induced an attenuated Avr4-dependent HR. The substitution of Cf-9 N-terminal LRRs 1 to 9 with the corresponding sequences from Cf-4 resulted in attenuation of the Avr9-induced HR, as did substitution of amino acid A433 in LRR 15. The amino acids L457 and K511 in Cf-9 LRRs 16 and 18 are essential for induction of the Avr9-dependent HR. Therefore, important sequence determinants of Cf-9 function are located in LRRs 10 to 18. This region contains 15 of the 67 amino acids that distinguish it from Cf-4, in addition to two extra LRRs. Our results demonstrate that sequence variation within the central LRRs of domain C1 and variation in LRR copy number in Cf-4 and Cf-9 play a major role in determining recognition specificity in these proteins.

Elevating crop disease resistance with cloned genes

Essentially all plant species exhibit heritable genetic variation for resistance to a variety of plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, oomycetes or viruses. Disease losses in crop monocultures are already significant, and would be greater but for applications of disease-controlling agrichemicals. For sustainable intensification of crop production, we argue that disease control should as far as possible be achieved using genetics rather than using costly recurrent chemical sprays. The latter imply CO2 emissions from diesel fuel and potential soil compaction from tractor journeys. Great progress has been made in the past 25 years in our understanding of the molecular basis of plant disease resistance mechanisms, and of how pathogens circumvent them. These insights can inform more sophisticated approaches to elevating disease resistance in crops that help us tip the evolutionary balance in favour of the crop and away from the pathogen. We illustrate this theme with an account of a genetically modified (GM) blight-resistant potato trial in Norwich, using the Rpi-vnt1.1 gene isolated from a wild relative of potato, Solanum venturii, and introduced by GM methods into the potato variety Desiree.

Multi-functional T-DNA/Ds tomato lines designed for gene cloning and molecular and physical dissection of the tomato genome

In order to make the tomato genome more accessible for molecular analysis and gene cloning, we have produced 405 individual tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) lines containing a characterized copy of pJasm13, a multifunctional T-DNA/modifiedDs transposon element construct. Both the T-DNA and the Ds element in pJasm13 harbor a set of selectable marker genes to monitor excision and reintegration of Ds and additionally, target sequences for rare cutting restriction enzymes (I-PpoI, SfiI, NotI) and for site-specific recombinases (Cre, FLP, R). Blast analysis of flanking genomic sequences of 174 T-DNA inserts revealed homology to transcribed genes in 69 (40%), of which about half are known or putatively identified as genes and ESTs. The map position of 140 individual inserts was determined on the molecular genetic map of tomato. These inserts are distributed over the 12 chromosomes of tomato, allowing targeted and non-targeted transposon tagging, marking of closely linked genes of interest and induction of chromosomal rearrangements including translocations or creation of saturation-deletions or inversions within defined regions linked to the T-DNA insertion site. The different features of pJasm13 were successfully tested in tomato and Arabidopsisthaliana, thus providing a new tool for molecular/genetic dissection studies, including molecular and physical mapping, mutation analysis and cloning strategies in tomato and potentially, in other plants as well.

Detection of the plant parasite Cuscuta reflexa by a tomato cell surface receptor.

Resistance is not, after all, futile The parasitic plant known as dodder attaches to its hosts and sucks the life out of them. Oddly, the common tomato stands tall when under attack. Hegenauer et al. have leveraged that difference to identify part of the molecular defense system that protects tomato plants (see the Perspective by Ntoukakis and Gimenez-Ibanez). In a process analogous to defenses mounted against microbial infection, the host plant perceives a small-peptide signal from the parasitic plant and initiates defense responses. The candidate receptor isolated from the tomato plant provided partial protection when transferred to two other susceptible plant species. Science, this issue p. 478; see also p. 442 Tomato plants rebuff attack by a parasitic plant upon perceiving a peptide signal from the invader. Parasitic plants are a constraint on agriculture worldwide. Cuscuta reflexa is a stem holoparasite that infests most dicotyledonous plants. One exception is tomato, which is resistant to C. reflexa. We discovered that tomato responds to a small peptide factor occurring in Cuscuta spp. with immune responses typically activated after perception of microbe-associated molecular patterns. We identified the cell surface receptor-like protein CUSCUTA RECEPTOR 1 (CuRe1) as essential for the perception of this parasite-associated molecular pattern. CuRe1 is sufficient to confer responsiveness to the Cuscuta factor and increased resistance to parasitic C. reflexa when heterologously expressed in otherwise susceptible host plants. Our findings reveal that plants recognize parasitic plants in a manner similar to perception of microbial pathogens.

Functional Divergence of Two Secreted Immune Proteases of Tomato

Rcr3 and Pip1 are paralogous secreted papain-like proteases of tomato. Both proteases are inhibited by Avr2 from the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum, but only Rcr3 acts as a co-receptor for Avr2 recognition by the tomato Cf-2 immune receptor. Here, we show that Pip1-depleted tomato plants are hyper-susceptible to fungal, bacterial, and oomycete plant pathogens, demonstrating that Pip1 is an important broad-range immune protease. By contrast, in the absence of Cf-2, Rcr3 depletion does not affect fungal and bacterial infection levels but causes increased susceptibility only to the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans. Rcr3 and Pip1 reside on a genetic locus that evolved over 36 million years ago. These proteins differ in surface-exposed residues outside the substrate-binding groove, and Pip1 is 5- to 10-fold more abundant than Rcr3. We propose a model in which Rcr3 and Pip1 diverged functionally upon gene duplication, possibly driven by an arms race with pathogen-derived inhibitors or by coevolution with the Cf-2 immune receptor detecting inhibitors of Rcr3, but not of Pip1.

A Straightforward Protocol for Electro-transformation of Phytophthora capsici Zoospores

Genome sequencing combined with high-throughput functional analyses has proved vital in our quest to understand oomycete-plant interactions. With the identification of effector molecules from Phytophthora spp. we can now embark on dissecting the mechanisms by which effectors modulate host processes and thus ensure parasite fitness. One of the key limitations, however, is to genetically modify Phytophthora and assess gene function during parasitism. Here, we describe a straightforward protocol that allows rapid transformation of Phytophthora capsici, an emerging model in oomycete biology. P. capsici is a broad host range pathogen that can infect a wide variety of plants under lab conditions making it a suitable model for detailed studies on oomycete-host interactions. This protocol relies on electroporation-assisted uptake of DNA in to motile zoospores and allows the rapid identification and characterization of genetically stable transformants.

Enhanced Bacterial Wilt Resistance in Potato Through Expression of Arabidopsis EFR and Introgression of Quantitative Resistance from Solanum commersonii

Bacterial wilt (BW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is responsible for substantial losses in cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum) crops worldwide. Resistance genes have been identified in wild species; however, introduction of these through classical breeding has achieved only partial resistance, which has been linked to poor agronomic performance. The Arabidopsis thaliana (At) pattern recognition receptor elongation factor-Tu (EF-Tu) receptor (EFR) recognizes the bacterial pathogen-associated molecular pattern EF-Tu (and its derived peptide elf18) to confer anti-bacterial immunity. Previous work has shown that transfer of AtEFR into tomato confers increased resistance to R. solanacearum. Here, we evaluated whether the transgenic expression of AtEFR would similarly increase BW resistance in a commercial potato line (INIA Iporá), as well as in a breeding potato line (09509.6) in which quantitative resistance has been introgressed from the wild potato relative Solanum commersonii. Resistance to R. solanacearum was evaluated by damaged root inoculation under controlled conditions. Both INIA Iporá and 09509.6 potato lines expressing AtEFR showed greater resistance to R. solanacearum, with no detectable bacteria in tubers evaluated by multiplex-PCR and plate counting. Notably, AtEFR expression and the introgression of quantitative resistance from S. commersonii had a significant additive effect in 09509.6-AtEFR lines. These results show that the combination of heterologous expression of AtEFR with quantitative resistance introgressed from wild relatives is a promising strategy to develop BW resistance in potato.