Mining the effector repertoire of the biotrophic fungal pathogen Ustilago hordei during host and non‐host infection

Summary The success of plant‐pathogenic fungi mostly relies on their arsenal of virulence factors which are expressed and delivered into the host tissue during colonization. The biotrophic fungal pathogen Ustilago hordei causes covered smut disease on both barley and oat. In this study, we combined...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular plant pathology 2018-12, Vol.19 (12), p.2603-2622
Main Authors: Ökmen, Bilal, Mathow, Daniel, Hof, Alexander, Lahrmann, Urs, Aßmann, Daniela, Doehlemann, Gunther
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barley
biotrophy
Colonization
Covered smut
Effectors
Fungi
Gene expression
Genomics
Infections
Leaves
Microscopic analysis
Molecular interactions
Original
Pathogens
Phytopathogenic fungi
Plant tissues
Target recognition
Transcription
Ustilago hordei
Vascular system (plant anatomy)
Virulence
Virulence factors
Yeast
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Summary:Summary The success of plant‐pathogenic fungi mostly relies on their arsenal of virulence factors which are expressed and delivered into the host tissue during colonization. The biotrophic fungal pathogen Ustilago hordei causes covered smut disease on both barley and oat. In this study, we combined cytological, genomics and molecular biological methods to achieve a better understanding of the molecular interactions in the U. hordei–barley pathosystem. Microscopic analysis revealed that U. hordei densely colonizes barley leaves on penetration, in particular the vascular system. Transcriptome analysis of U. hordei at different stages of host infection revealed differential expression of the transcript levels of 273 effector gene candidates. Furthermore, U. hordei transcriptionally activates core effector genes which may suppress even non‐host early defence responses. Based on expression profiles and novelty of sequences, knockout studies of 14 effector candidates were performed in U. hordei, which resulted in the identification of four virulence factors required for host colonization. Yeast two‐hybrid screening identified potential barley targets for two of the effectors. Overall, this study provides a first systematic analysis of the effector repertoire of U. hordei and identifies four effectors (Uvi1–Uvi4) as virulence factors for the infection of barley.
ISSN:1464-6722
1364-3703
DOI:10.1111/mpp.12732