The vesicular trafficking system component MIN7 is required for minimizing Fusarium graminearum infection

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Wood, A. K. M., Panwar, V., Grimwade-Mann, M., Ashfield, T., Hammond-Kosack, K. E. and Kanyuka, K. 2021. The vesicular trafficking system component MIN7 is required for minimizing Fusarium graminearum infection. Journal of Experimental Botany. 72 (13), pp. 5010-5023. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab170

AuthorsWood, A. K. M., Panwar, V., Grimwade-Mann, M., Ashfield, T., Hammond-Kosack, K. E. and Kanyuka, K.
Abstract

Plants have developed intricate defense mechanisms, referred to as innate immunity, to defend themselves against a wide range of pathogens. Plants often respond rapidly to pathogen attack by the synthesis and delivery of various antimicrobial compounds, proteins and small RNA in membrane vesicles to the primary infection sites. Much of the evidence regarding the importance of vesicular trafficking in plant-pathogen interactions comes from the studies involving model plants whereas this process is relatively understudied in crop plants. Here we assessed whether the vesicular trafficking system components previously implicated in immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana play a role in the interaction with Fusarium graminearum, a fungal pathogen notoriously famous for its ability to cause Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease in wheat. Among the analyzed vesicular trafficking mutants, two independent T-DNA insertion mutants in the AtMin7 gene displayed a markedly enhanced susceptibility to F. graminearum. Earlier studies identified this gene, encoding an ARF-GEF protein, as a target for the HopM1 effector of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, which destabilizes MIN7 leading to its degradation and weakening host defenses. To test whether this key vesicular trafficking component may also contribute to defense in crop plants, we identified the candidate TaMin7 genes in wheat and knocked-down their expression through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Wheat plants in which TaMin7 were silenced displayed significantly more FHB disease. This suggests that disruption of MIN7 function in both model and crop plants compromises the trafficking of innate immunity signals or products resulting in hyper-susceptibility to various pathogens.

KeywordsFusarium graminearum; Wheat; Arabidopsis; Vesicular trafficking; VIGS
Year of Publication2021
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Journal citation72 (13), pp. 5010-5023
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab170
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeDFW - Designing Future Wheat - Work package 2 (WP2) - Added value and resilience
Bilateral BBSRC-Embrapa: Using disease risk forecasting, NGS and HIGS to explore and control Fusarium Head Blight disease in wheat fields
Publisher's version
Accepted author manuscript
Supplemental file
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online20 Apr 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted03 Mar 2021
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN0022-0957

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