Perturbation of Arabidopsis amino acid metabolism causes incompatibility with the adapted biotrophic pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis

Plant Cell. 2011 Jul;23(7):2788-803. doi: 10.1105/tpc.111.087684. Epub 2011 Jul 22.

Abstract

Reliance of biotrophic pathogens on living plant tissues to propagate implies strong interdependence between host metabolism and nutrient uptake by the pathogen. However, factors determining host suitability and establishment of infection are largely unknown. We describe a loss-of-inhibition allele of ASPARTATE KINASE2 and a loss-of-function allele of DIHYDRODIPICOLINATE SYNTHASE2 identified in a screen for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with increased resistance to the obligate biotrophic oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa). Through different molecular mechanisms, these mutations perturb amino acid homeostasis leading to overaccumulation of the Asp-derived amino acids Met, Thr, and Ile. Although detrimental for the plant, the mutations do not cause defense activation, and both mutants retain full susceptibility to the adapted obligate biotrophic fungus Golovinomyces orontii (Go). Chemical treatments mimicking the mutants' metabolic state identified Thr as the amino acid suppressing Hpa but not Go colonization. We conclude that perturbations in amino acid homeostasis render the mutant plants unsuitable as an infection substrate for Hpa. This may be explained by deployment of the same amino acid biosynthetic pathways by oomycetes and plants. Our data show that the plant host metabolic state can, in specific ways, influence the ability of adapted biotrophic strains to cause disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / anatomy & histology
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / microbiology*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Aspartate Kinase / genetics
  • Aspartate Kinase / metabolism
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Disease Resistance / genetics
  • Homeostasis
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / physiology*
  • Hydro-Lyases / genetics
  • Hydro-Lyases / metabolism
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Oomycetes / metabolism*
  • Oomycetes / pathogenicity*
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Plant Leaves / cytology
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology
  • Protein Conformation
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • PBS2 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Aspartate Kinase
  • Hydro-Lyases
  • 4-hydroxy-tetrahydrodipicolinate synthase