Chitin-Binding Protein of <i>Verticillium nonalfalfae</i> Disguises Fungus from Plant Chitinases and Suppresses Chitin-Triggered Host Immunity
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- Helena Volk
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Kristina Marton
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Marko Flajšman
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Sebastjan Radišek
- Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, Cesta Žalskega tabora 2, SI-3310 Žalec, Slovenia
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- Hui Tian
- Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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- Ingo Hein
- The James Hutton Institute (JHI), Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, Scotland, U.K.
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- Črtomir Podlipnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 113, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Bart P. H. J. Thomma
- Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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- Katarina Košmelj
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Branka Javornik
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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- Sabina Berne
- Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
抄録
<jats:p> During fungal infections, plant cells secrete chitinases, which digest chitin in the fungal cell walls. The recognition of released chitin oligomers via lysin motif (LysM)-containing immune host receptors results in the activation of defense signaling pathways. We report here that Verticillium nonalfalfae, a hemibiotrophic xylem-invading fungus, prevents these digestion and recognition processes by secreting a carbohydrate-binding motif 18 (CBM18)-chitin-binding protein, VnaChtBP, which is transcriptionally activated specifically during the parasitic life stages. VnaChtBP is encoded by the Vna8.213 gene, which is highly conserved within the species, suggesting high evolutionary stability and importance for the fungal lifestyle. In a pathogenicity assay, however, Vna8.213 knockout mutants exhibited wilting symptoms similar to the wild-type fungus, suggesting that Vna8.213 activity is functionally redundant during fungal infection of hop. In a binding assay, recombinant VnaChtBP bound chitin and chitin oligomers in vitro with submicromolar affinity and protected fungal hyphae from degradation by plant chitinases. Moreover, the chitin-triggered production of reactive oxygen species from hop suspension cells was abolished in the presence of VnaChtBP, indicating that VnaChtBP also acts as a suppressor of chitin-triggered immunity. Using a yeast-two-hybrid assay, circular dichroism, homology modeling, and molecular docking, we demonstrated that VnaChtBP forms dimers in the absence of ligands and that this interaction is stabilized by the binding of chitin hexamers with a similar preference in the two binding sites. Our data suggest that, in addition to chitin-binding LysM (CBM50) and Avr4 (CBM14) fungal effectors, structurally unrelated CBM18 effectors have convergently evolved to prevent hydrolysis of the fungal cell wall against plant chitinases and to interfere with chitin-triggered host immunity. </jats:p>
収録刊行物
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- Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
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Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® 32 (10), 1378-1390, 2019-10
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