During attachment Phytophthora spores secrete proteins containing thrombospondin type 1 repeats

• Published in: Current genetics 2005-05, Vol.47 (5), p.307-315
• Main Authors: Robold, A.V, Hardham, A.R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adhesins; Adhesion; Algae; Algal Proteins - chemistry; Algal Proteins - genetics; Algal Proteins - secretion; Amino Acid Sequence; amino acid sequences; Animal diseases; Aquatic plants; cell adhesion; Cell Adhesion - physiology; Cloning; DNA, Complementary - genetics; fungal proteins; fungal spores; Gene Expression Regulation; genes; Malaria; Molecular Sequence Data; nucleotide sequences; Parasites; Pathogens; PcVsv1 gene; Phytophthora; Phytophthora - physiology; Phytophthora cinnamomi; Phytophthora nicotianae; protein secretion; Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid; Reproduction, Asexual - physiology; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Spores - chemistry; Thrombospondin 1; ventral vesicle proteins
• ISSN: 0172-8083; 1432-0983
• DOI: 10.1007/s00294-004-0559-8

Adhesion is a key aspect of disease establishment in animals and plants. Adhesion anchors the parasite to the host surface and is a prerequisite for further development and host cell invasion. Although a number of adhesin molecules produced by animal pathogens have been characterised, molecular details of adhesins of plant pathogens, especially fungi, are largely restricted to general descriptions of the nature of heterogeneous secreted materials. In this paper, we report the cloning of a gene, PcVsv1, encoding a protein secreted during attachment of spores of Phytophthora, a genus of highly destructive plant pathogens. PcVsv1 contains 47 copies of the thrombospondin type 1 repeat, a motif found in adhesins of animals and malarial parasites but not in plants, green algae or true fungi. Our results suggest that PcVsv1 is a spore adhesin and highlight intriguing similarities in structural and molecular features of host attachment in oomycete and malarial parasites.