The highly conserved SGT1 (suppressor of the G2 alleles of skp1) proteins from Arabidopsis are known to contribute to plant resistance to pathogens. While SGT1 proteins respond to fungal pathogens, their antifungal activity is not reported and the mechanism for this inhibition is not well understood. Therefore, recombinant Arabidopsis SGT1 proteins were cloned, expressed, and purified to evaluate their antifungal activity, resulting in their potent inhibition of pathogen growth. Dye-labeled proteins are localized to the cytosol of Candida albicans cells without the disruption of the cell membrane. Moreover, we showed that entry of the proteins into C. albicans cells resulted in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death via altered mitochondrial potential. Morphological changes of C. albicans cells in the presence of proteins were visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Our data suggest that AtSGT1 proteins play a critical role in plant resistance to pathogenic fungal infection and they can be classified to a new plant antifungal protein.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; SGT1; antifungal protein; mitochondrial damage; reactive oxygen species.