scholarly journals New insights in to ancient resistance: the molecular side of cell wall appositions

2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Greenshields ◽  
Guosheng Liu ◽  
Gopalan Selvaraj ◽  
Yangdou Wei

AbstractThe epidermis lies at the interface between a plant and its environment. As such, the epidermis is crucial for protecting the plant against environmental insults. We focus primarily on cell wall reinforcement-mediated penetration resistance (papilla-resistance) against fungal pathogen attack. The epidermal cell layer of cereal leaves is the only tissue interacting with the powdery mildew fungus,Blumeria graminis, and papilla formation at sites of fungal penetration attempts provides a basal resistance, hampering fungal invasion irrespective of host specific compatibility or incompatibility. To elucidate the genetic scaffolding of penetration resistance mechanisms, we constructed a cDNA library from wheat leaf epidermis at 24-48 h post inoculation withB. graminisf. sp.tritici. We have sequenced 3,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from this cDNA library. EST analysis revealed a large proportion of genes involved in plant defense/stress responses (1/3) and a low frequency of “house-keeping” genes. Enrichment of defense genes from this EST collection has allowed us to identify several defense and signaling pathways that have been hitherto poorly characterized, including cell wall biosynthesis, vesicle trafficking, redox regulation and metal homeostasis. Our results suggest that a global analysis of transcripts from this epidermis-specific cDNA library makes it feasible to define a full set of genes involved in early plant resistance associated with cell wall modifications.

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Jarosch ◽  
Nicholas C. Collins ◽  
Nina Zellerhoff ◽  
Ulrich Schaffrath

The fungus Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of rice blast disease, is a major pathogen of rice and is capable of producing epidemics on other cultivated cereals, including barley (Hordeum vulgare). We explored the requirements for basal resistance of barley against a compatible M. grisea isolate using both genetic and chemical approaches. Mutants of the RAR1 gene required for the function of major resistance gene-mediated resistance and mutants of the ROR1 and ROR2 genes required for full expression of cell-wall-penetration resistance against powdery mildew pathogens were examined for macroscopic and microscopic alterations in M. grisea growth and symptoms. RAR1 contributed to resistance in epidermis and mesophyll at different stages of fungal infection dependent on the MLO/mlo-5 status. Whereas no ROR2 effect was detected, ROR1 was found to contribute to cell-wall-penetration resistance, at least in the epidermis. Application of the actin agonist cytochalasin E promoted cell wall penetration by M. grisea in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating an involvement of the actin cytoskeleton in penetration resistance.


Planta ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 253 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peilei Chen ◽  
Valentino Giarola ◽  
Dorothea Bartels

Abstract Main conclusion The cell wall protein CpWAK1 interacts with pectin, participates in decoding cell wall signals, and induces different downstream responses. Abstract Cell wall-associated protein kinases (WAKs) are transmembrane receptor kinases. In the desiccation-tolerant resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum, CpWAK1 has been shown to be involved in stress responses and cell expansion by forming a complex with the C. plantagineum glycine-rich protein1 (CpGRP1). This prompted us to extend the studies of WAK genes in C. plantagineum. The phylogenetic analyses of WAKs from C. plantagineum and from other species suggest that these genes have been duplicated after species divergence. Expression profiles indicate that CpWAKs are involved in various biological processes, including dehydration-induced responses and SA- and JA-related reactions to pathogens and wounding. CpWAK1 shows a high affinity for “egg-box” pectin structures. ELISA assays revealed that the binding of CpWAKs to pectins is modulated by CpGRP1 and it depends on the apoplastic pH. The formation of CpWAK multimers is the prerequisite for the CpWAK–pectin binding. Different pectin extracts lead to opposite trends of CpWAK–pectin binding in the presence of Ca2+ at pH 8. These observations demonstrate that CpWAKs can potentially discriminate and integrate cell wall signals generated by diverse stimuli, in concert with other elements, such as CpGRP1, pHapo, Ca2+[apo], and via the formation of CpWAK multimers.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1217-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Eichmann ◽  
Melanie Bischof ◽  
Corina Weis ◽  
Jane Shaw ◽  
Christophe Lacomme ◽  
...  

BAX INHIBITOR-1 (BI-1) is one of the few proteins known to have cross-kingdom conserved functions in negative control of programmed cell death. Additionally, barley BI-1 (HvBI-1) suppresses defense responses and basal resistance to the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei and enhances resistance to cell death–provoking fungi when overexpressed in barley. Downregulation of HvBI-1 by transient-induced gene silencing or virus-induced gene silencing limited susceptibility to B. graminis f. sp. hordei, suggesting that HvBI-1 is a susceptibility factor toward powdery mildew. Transient silencing of BI-1 did not limit supersusceptibility induced by overexpression of MLO. Transgenic barley plants harboring an HvBI-1 RNA interference (RNAi) construct displayed lower levels of HvBI-1 transcripts and were less susceptible to powdery mildew than wild-type plants. At the cellular level, HvBI-1 RNAi plants had enhanced resistance to penetration by B. graminis f. sp. hordei. These data support a function of BI-1 in modulating cell-wall-associated defense and in establishing full compatibility of B. graminis f. sp. hordei with barley.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251444
Author(s):  
Márk Z. Németh ◽  
Yuusaku Mizuno ◽  
Hiroki Kobayashi ◽  
Diána Seress ◽  
Naruki Shishido ◽  
...  

A total of 26 Ampelomyces strains were isolated from mycelia of six different powdery mildew species that naturally infected their host plants in Japan. These were characterized based on morphological characteristics and sequences of ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (rDNA-ITS) regions and actin gene (ACT) fragments. Collected strains represented six different genotypes and were accommodated in three different clades of the genus Ampelomyces. Morphology of the strains agreed with that of other Ampelomyces strains, but none of the examined characters were associated with any groups identified in the genetic analysis. Five powdery mildew species were inoculated with eight selected Ampelomyces strains to study their mycoparasitic activity. In the inoculation experiments, all Ampelomyces strains successfully infected all tested powdery mildew species, and showed no significant differences in their mycoparasitic activity as determined by the number of Ampelomyces pycnidia developed in powdery mildew colonies. The mycoparasitic interaction between the eight selected Ampelomyces strains and the tomato powdery mildew fungus (Pseudoidium neolycopersici strain KTP-03) was studied experimentally in the laboratory using digital microscopic technologies. It was documented that the spores of the mycoparasites germinated on tomato leaves and their hyphae penetrated the hyphae of Ps. neolycopersici. Ampelomyces hyphae continued their growth internally, which initiated the atrophy of the powdery mildew conidiophores 5 days post inoculation (dpi); caused atrophy 6 dpi; and complete collapse of the parasitized conidiphores 7 dpi. Ampelomyces strains produced new intracellular pycnidia in Ps. neolycopersici conidiophores ca. 8–10 dpi, when Ps. neolycopersici hyphae were successfully destroyed by the mycoparasitic strain. Mature pycnidia released spores ca. 10–14 dpi, which became the sources of subsequent infections of the intact powdery mildew hyphae. Mature pycnidia contained each ca. 200 to 1,500 spores depending on the mycohost species and Ampelomyces strain. This is the first detailed analysis of Ampelomyces strains isolated in Japan, and the first timing and quantification of mycoparasitism of Ps. neolycopersici on tomato by phylogenetically diverse Ampelomyces strains using digital microscopic technologies. The developed model system is useful for future biocontrol and ecological studies on Ampelomyces mycoparasites.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntakadzeni E Madala ◽  
Antonio Molinaro ◽  
Ian A Dubery

Lipopolysaccharides are structural components within the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria. The LPSs as microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) molecules can trigger defense-related responses involved in MAMP-triggered immunity and basal resistance in plants, presumably from an initial perception event. LPS from Burkholderia cepacia as well as two fragments, the glycolipid, lipid A and the polysaccharide (OPS-core) chain, were used to treat Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings to evaluate the eliciting activities of the individual LPS sub-domains by means of Annealing Control Primer-based Differential Display transcript profiling. Genes found to be up-regulated encode for proteins involved in signal perception and transduction, transcriptional regulation and defense – and stress responses. Furthermore, genes encoding proteins involved in chaperoning, secretion, protein–protein interactions and protein degradation were differentially expressed. It is concluded that intact LPS, as well as the two sub-components, induced the expression of a broad range of genes associated with perception and defense as well as metabolic reprogramming of cellular activities in support of immunity and basal resistance. Whilst the lipid A and OPS moieties were able to up-regulate sub-sets of defense-associated genes over the same spectrum of categories as intact LPS, the up-regulation observed with intact LPS was the more comprehensive, suggesting that the lipid A and glycan molecular patterns of the molecule act as partial agonists, but that the intact LPS structure is required for full agonist activity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (536) ◽  
pp. eaao3070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Engelsdorf ◽  
Nora Gigli-Bisceglia ◽  
Manikandan Veerabagu ◽  
Joseph F. McKenna ◽  
Lauri Vaahtera ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (18) ◽  
pp. 5631-5644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong Tang ◽  
Yijie Wang ◽  
Axiang Gao ◽  
Yuchen Ji ◽  
Baoyun Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Straighthead disease is a physiological disorder in rice with symptoms of sterile spikelets, distorted husks, and erect panicles. Methylated arsenic species have been implicated as the causal agent of the disease, but direct evidence is lacking. Here, we investigated whether dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) causes straighthead disease and its effect on the transcriptome of young panicles. DMA addition caused typical straighthead symptoms in hydroponic culture, which were alleviated by silicon addition. DMA addition to soil at the tillering to flowering stages induced straighthead disease. Transgenic rice expressing a bacterial arsenite methyltransferase gene gained the ability to methylate arsenic to mainly DMA, with the consequence of inducing straighthead disease. Field surveys showed that seed setting rate decreased with increasing DMA concentration in the husk, with an EC50 of 0.18 mg kg−1. Transcriptomic analysis showed that 364 and 856 genes were significantly up- and down-regulated, respectively, in the young panicles of DMA-treated plants compared with control, whereas Si addition markedly reduced the number of genes affected. Among the differentially expressed genes, genes related to cell wall modification and oxidative stress responses were the most prominent, suggesting that cell wall metabolism is a sensitive target of DMA toxicity and silicon protects against this toxicity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyunghun Min ◽  
Shamoon Naseem ◽  
James B. Konopka

N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is being increasingly recognized for its ability to stimulate cell signaling. This amino sugar is best known as a component of cell wall peptidoglycan in bacteria, cell wall chitin in fungi and parasites, exoskeletons of arthropods, and the extracellular matrix of animal cells. In addition to these structural roles, GlcNAc is now known to stimulate morphological and stress responses in a wide range of organisms. In fungi, the model organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe lack the ability to respond to GlcNAc or catabolize it, so studies with the human pathogen Candida albicans have been providing new insights into the ability of GlcNAc to stimulate cellular responses. GlcNAc potently induces C. albicans to transition from budding to filamentous hyphal growth. It also promotes an epigenetic switch from White to Opaque cells, which differ in morphology, metabolism, and virulence properties. These studies have led to new discoveries, such as the identification of the first eukaryotic GlcNAc transporter. Other results have shown that GlcNAc can induce signaling in C. albicans in two ways. One is to act as a signaling molecule independent of its catabolism, and the other is that its catabolism can cause the alkalinization of the extracellular environment, which provides an additional stimulus to form hyphae. GlcNAc also induces the expression of virulence genes in the C. albicans, indicating it can influence pathogenesis. Therefore, this review will describe the recent advances in understanding the role of GlcNAc signaling pathways in regulating C. albicans morphogenesis and virulence.


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