Newly discovered protein in fungus bypasses plant defenses

A team of scientists from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and Washington State University have identified a molecule that allows the white mold stem rot in more than 600 plant species to be overcome.

A new, more precise system of control measures for the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fungus, which attacks potatoes, soybeans, sunflowers, peas, lentils, and many other broad leaf crops, could be developed with knowledge of the SsPINE1 protein. Billions of dollars can be added to a year of bad outbreaks.

Plants are rot and die by secreting chemicals called polygalacturonases, which break down the cell walls. Plants evolved to protect themselves by producing a protein that stops or reduces the growth of the fungus, which was discovered in 1971. Scientists have known for a long time that there are ways to overcome the plant's PGIP. They had not been able to identify it.

An intense battle of attack, counter attack and counter-counter attack is waged between the plant hosts and the pathogens in which each is constantly developing and shifting its chemical tactics in order to overcome the other's defenses.

According to Chen, the key to identifying SsPINE1 was looking outside the cells.

He said that they found it by looking at the materials that the fungus excretes. It made sense when we found the SsPINE1 that it interacted with PGIP.

Chen and his colleagues deleted the SsPINE1 in the fungus in the lab, which dramatically reduced the impact.

Kiwamu Tanaka, an associate professor in Washington State University's Department of Plant Pathology and a co-author on the paper, said that he got goose bumps when they found theProtein. Why do they have such a broad range of hosts?

New avenues to investigate for controlling white mold stem rot pathogens have been opened by the discovery of SsPINE1. This discovery is even more important because the team has shown that other related fungal pathogens use this counter-strategy.

The National Sclerotinia Initiative is a multiorganization effort created by the ARS to counter the damage done by S. sclerotiorum.

The research team also included scientists from the USDA-ARS and the other universities.

More information: A fungal extracellular effector inactivates plant polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29788-2 Journal information: Nature Communications Citation: Newly discovered protein in fungus bypasses plant defenses (2022, April 25) retrieved 25 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-newly-protein-fungus-bypasses-defenses.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.