Genome-guided comparative in planta transcriptome analyses for identifying cross-species common virulence factors in bacterial phytopathogens

Plant bacterial disease is a complex outcome achieved through a combination of virulence factors that are activated during infection. However, the common virulence factors across diverse plant pathogens are largely uncharacterized. Here, we established a pan-genome shared across the following plant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in plant science 2022-11, Vol.13
Main Authors: Park, Jungwook, Jung, Hyejung, Mannaa, Mohamed, Lee, Seung Yeup, Lee, Hyun-Hee, Kim, Namgyu, Han, Gil, Park, Dong-Soo, Lee, Sang-Won, Lee, Seon-Woo, Seo, Young-Su
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
comparative in planta transcriptomic
genome
phytopathogenic bacteria
Plant Science
rice
virulence
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Summary:Plant bacterial disease is a complex outcome achieved through a combination of virulence factors that are activated during infection. However, the common virulence factors across diverse plant pathogens are largely uncharacterized. Here, we established a pan-genome shared across the following plant pathogens: Burkholderia glumae , Ralstonia solanacearum , and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae . By overlaying in planta transcriptomes onto the pan-genome, we investigated the expression profiles of common genes during infection. We found over 70% of identical patterns for genes commonly expressed by the pathogens in different plant hosts or infection sites. Co-expression patterns revealed the activation of a signal transduction cascade to recognize and respond to external changes within hosts. Using mutagenesis, we uncovered a relationship between bacterial virulence and functions highly conserved and shared in the studied genomes of the bacterial phytopathogens, including flagellar biosynthesis protein, C4-dicarboxylate ABC transporter, 2-methylisocitrate lyase, and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase (PCD). In particular, the disruption of PCD gene led to attenuated virulence in all pathogens and significantly affected phytotoxin production in B. glumae . This PCD gene was ubiquitously distributed in most plant pathogens with high homology. In conclusion, our results provide cross-species in planta models for identifying common virulence factors, which can be useful for the protection of crops against diverse pathogens.
ISSN:1664-462X
1664-462X
DOI:10.3389/fpls.2022.1030720