Retromer Is Essential for Autophagy-Dependent Plant Infection by the Rice Blast Fungus

PLoS Genet. 2015 Dec 10;11(12):e1005704. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005704. eCollection 2015 Dec.

Abstract

The retromer mediates protein trafficking through recycling cargo from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network in eukaryotes. However, the role of such trafficking events during pathogen-host interaction remains unclear. Here, we report that the cargo-recognition complex (MoVps35, MoVps26 and MoVps29) of the retromer is essential for appressorium-mediated host penetration by Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal pathogen of the blast disease in rice. Loss of retromer function blocked glycogen distribution and turnover of lipid bodies, delayed nuclear degeneration and reduced turgor during appressorial development. Cytological observation revealed dynamic MoVps35-GFP foci co-localized with autophagy-related protein RFP-MoAtg8 at the periphery of autolysosomes. Furthermore, RFP-MoAtg8 interacted with MoVps35-GFP in vivo, RFP-MoAtg8 was mislocalized to the vacuole and failed to recycle from the autolysosome in the absence of the retromer function, leading to impaired biogenesis of autophagosomes. We therefore conclude that retromer is essential for autophagy-dependent plant infection by the rice blast fungus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Autophagy / genetics
  • Glycogen / metabolism
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics
  • Lipid Droplets / metabolism
  • Magnaporthe / genetics*
  • Magnaporthe / pathogenicity
  • Oryza / genetics*
  • Oryza / microbiology
  • Plant Diseases / genetics*
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Plant Leaves / genetics
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology
  • Protein Transport / genetics*
  • Vacuoles / genetics
  • Vacuoles / microbiology
  • trans-Golgi Network / genetics

Substances

  • Glycogen

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the 973 plan (Project No. 2012CB114001) and the National Nature Science Foundation of China grants 31270179 and 31070124, 31030004, 31328002 and a scientific research foundation of graduate school of FAFU. Research in the Naqvi lab is supported by grants from Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and the National Research Foundation, Singapore. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.