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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » Crop Production and Pest Control Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394331
Research Project: Fungal Host-Pathogen Interactions and Disease Resistance in Cereal Crops

Location: Crop Production and Pest Control Research

Title: Candidate effector proteins from the maize tar spot pathogen Phyllachora maydis localize to diverse plant cell compartments

Author
item Helm, Matthew
item SINGH, RAKSHA
item HILES, RACHEL - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
item MYERS, ARIANA - OAK RIDGE INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND EDUCATION (ORISE)
item IYER-PASCUZZI, ANJALI - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
item Goodwin, Stephen - Steve

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2022
Publication Date: 8/6/2022
Citation: Helm, M.D., Singh, R., Hiles, R., Myers, A., Iyer-Pascuzzi, A.S., Goodwin, S.B. 2022. Candidate effector proteins from the maize tar spot pathogen Phyllachora maydis localize to diverse plant cell compartments. American Phytopathological Society Abstracts. Plant Health 2022. 6-10 Aug 2022, Pittsburgh, PA.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Most fungal pathogens secrete effector proteins into host cells to modulate their immune responses, thereby promoting pathogenesis and fungal growth. One such fungal pathogen is the ascomycete Phyllachora maydis, which causes tar spot disease on leaves of maize (Zea mays). Sequencing of the P. maydis genome revealed 462 putatively secreted proteins of which 40 proteins contain effector-like sequence characteristics. However, the subcellular compartments targeted by P. maydis effectors candidate (PmECs) proteins are unknown and will be important to prioritize them for further functional characterization. Here, we developed a heterologous expression system using the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana to determine the plant cell compartments targeted by the super Yellow Fluorescent (sYFP)-tagged PmECs. Confocal microscopy of N. benthamiana epidermal cells revealed the majority of the putative effectors localized to the nucleus and cytosol. Among the effector-fluorescent protein fusions that showed informative subcellular localizations, one putative effector, PmEC01597, localized to multiple subcellular compartments including the nucleus, nucleolus, and plasma membrane while PmEC03792 preferentially accumulated in the nucleus. An additional candidate effector, PmEC04573, localized to chloroplasts as well as the nucleo-cytosol. Collectively, our data indicate effector candidate proteins from P. maydis target diverse cellular organelles and thus provides valuable insights into their putative functions as well as host processes potentially manipulated by this fungal pathogen.