Abstract
Potato cyst nematodes (PCNs), including Globodera rostochiensis (Woll.), are important pests of potato. Plant parasitic nematodes produce multiple effector proteins, secreted from their stylets, to successfully infect their hosts. These include proteins delivered to the apoplast and to the host cytoplasm. A number of effectors from G. rostochiensis predicted to be delivered to the host cytoplasm have been identified, including several belonging to the secreted SPRY domain (SPRYSEC) family. SPRYSEC proteins are unique to members of the genus Globodera and have been implicated in both the induction and the repression of host defense responses. We have tested the properties of six different G. rostochiensis SPRYSEC proteins by expressing them in Nicotiana benthamiana and N. tabacum. We have found that all SPRYSEC proteins tested are able to suppress defense responses induced by NB-LRR proteins as well as cell death induced by elicitors, suggesting that defense repression is a common characteristic of members of this effector protein family. At the same time, GrSPRYSEC-15 elicited a defense responses in N. tabacum, which was found to be resistant to a virus expressing GrSPRYSEC-15. These results suggest that SPRYSEC proteins may possess characteristics that allow them to be recognized by the plant immune system.
Highlights
Plants can be infected by multiple types of pathogens, including microbial and viral pathogens, as well as metazoan parasites such as insects and plant-parasitic nematodes
We found that all six SPRYSEC proteins were able to suppress the cell death induced by two different elicitors as well as by two different NB-LRR proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana and/or N. tabacum
We show that GrSPRYSEC-15 confers resistance to a recombinant virus expressing the latter protein, suggesting that recognition of SPRYSEC proteins by the plant immune system may be common for this class of proteins
Summary
Plants can be infected by multiple types of pathogens, including microbial and viral pathogens, as well as metazoan parasites such as insects and plant-parasitic nematodes. Nematodes, and insect parasites have been shown to secrete effector proteins, some of which are thought to be delivered to the host cytoplasm where they inhibit PTI mechanisms (Goverse and Smant, 2014; Jaouannet et al, 2014). Once at the vasculature the juvenile becomes a highly specialized obligate sedentary endoparasite by selecting a cell to establish a unique feeding structure called a syncytium (Davis et al, 2004) This process is thought to be mediated in large part by secretions from the stylet, including apoplastic effectors as well as effectors that are delivered to the cytoplasm of the infected cell. We show that GrSPRYSEC-15 confers resistance to a recombinant virus expressing the latter protein, suggesting that recognition of SPRYSEC proteins by the plant immune system may be common for this class of proteins
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