Glycine-serine-rich effector PstGSRE4 in Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici inhibits the activity of copper zinc superoxide dismutase to modulate immunity in wheat

PLoS Pathog. 2022 Jul 26;18(7):e1010702. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010702. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) secretes an array of specific effector proteins to manipulate host immunity and promote pathogen colonization. In a previous study, we functionally characterized a glycine-serine-rich effector PstGSRE1 with a glycine-serine-rich motif (m9). However, the mechanisms of glycine-serine-rich effectors (GSREs) remain obscure. Here we report a new glycine-serine-rich effector, PstGSRE4, which has no m9-like motif but inhibits the enzyme activity of wheat copper zinc superoxide dismutase TaCZSOD2, which acts as a positive regulator of wheat resistance to Pst. By inhibiting the enzyme activity of TaCZSOD2, PstGSRE4 reduces H2O2 accumulation and HR areas to facilitate Pst infection. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of GSREs of rust fungi in regulating plant immunity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Basidiomycota* / physiology
  • Copper / metabolism
  • Glycine / pharmacology
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / metabolism
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Puccinia
  • Serine / metabolism
  • Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism
  • Triticum* / microbiology
  • Zinc / metabolism

Substances

  • Serine
  • Copper
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Superoxide Dismutase
  • Zinc
  • Glycine

Supplementary concepts

  • Puccinia striiformis

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China to JG (2021YFD1401000) (http://www.most.gov.cn/), the National Natural Science Foundation of China to JG (32172381 and 31972224) (https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/), Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi to JG (2021ZDLNY01-01) (https://kjt.shaanxi.gov.cn/), Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi to JG (2020JZ-13) (https://kjt.shaanxi.gov.cn/) and the 111 Project from the Ministry of Education of China to ZK (B07049) (http://www.moe.gov.cn/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.