Characterization of a Secretory YML079-like Cupin Protein That Contributes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Pathogenicity

Hongxia Fan; Wenwen Yang; Jiayue Nie; Chen Lin; Jian Wu; Dewei Wu; Youping Wang

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9122519

Characterization of a Secretory YML079-like Cupin Protein That Contributes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Pathogenicity

Microorganisms. 2021 Dec 6;9(12):2519. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9122519.

Authors

Hongxia Fan¹, Wenwen Yang¹, Jiayue Nie¹, Chen Lin¹, Jian Wu¹, Dewei Wu¹, Youping Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.

Abstract

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes devastating diseases in many agriculturally important crops, including oilseed rape and sunflower. However, the mechanisms of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathogenesis remain poorly understood. In this study, we characterized a YML079-like cupin protein (SsYCP1) from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. We showed that SsYCP1 is strongly expressed and secreted during Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection was promoted by SsYCP1 overexpression and inhibited by silencing this gene with synthetic double-stranded RNA. These results collectively indicate SsYCP1 as a putative effector protein that contributes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathogenicity. These findings extend our understanding of effector-mediated Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathogenesis and suggest a novel role for YML079-like cupin proteins in plant-pathogen interactions.

Keywords: Brassica napus; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum; YML079-like cupin protein; effector.

Abstract

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