Soybean Resistance Locus Rhg1 Confers Resistance to Multiple Cyst Nematodes in Diverse Plant Species

• Published in: Phytopathology 2019-12, Vol.109 (12), p.2107-2115
• Main Authors: Butler, Katelyn J, Chen, Shiyan, Smith, John M, Wang, Xiaohong, Bent, Andrew F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - parasitology; Disease Resistance - genetics; Glycine max - genetics; Glycine max - parasitology; Plant Diseases - parasitology; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - parasitology; Solanum tuberosum - genetics; Solanum tuberosum - parasitology; Tylenchoidea - physiology
• ISSN: 0031-949X; 1943-7684
• DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-07-19-0225-R

Cyst nematodes consistently threaten agricultural production, causing billions of dollars in losses globally. The (resistance to 1) locus of soybean ( ) is the most popular resistance source used against soybean cyst nematodes ( ). is a complex locus that has multiple repeats of an ≈30-kilobase segment carrying three genes that contribute to resistance. We investigated whether soybean could function in different plant families, conferring resistance to their respective cyst nematode parasites. Transgenic and potato ( ) plants expressing the three soybean genes were generated. The recipient Brassicaceae and Solanaceae plant species exhibited elevated resistance to and and to , respectively. However, some negative consequences including reduced root growth and tuber biomass were observed upon expression in heterologous species. One of the genes at encodes a toxic version of an alpha-SNAP protein that has been demonstrated to interfere with vesicle trafficking. Using a transient expression assay for , native and potato alpha-SNAPs (soluble NSF [ ethylamine sensitive factor] attachment protein) were found to compensate for the toxicity of soybean alpha-SNAP proteins. Hence, future manipulation of the balance between alpha-SNAP and the endogenous wild-type alpha-SNAPs (as well as the recently discovered soybean NSF-RAN07) may mitigate impacts of on plant productivity. The multispecies efficacy of soybean demonstrates that the encoded mechanisms can function across plant and cyst nematode species and offers a possible avenue for engineered resistance in diverse crop species.