A conserved enzyme of smut fungi facilitates cell-to-cell extension in the plant bundle sheath

Bilal Ökmen (), Elaine Jaeger, Lena Schilling, Natalie Finke, Amy Klemd, Yoon Joo Lee, Raphael Wemhöner, Markus Pauly, Ulla Neumann and Gunther Doehlemann ()
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Bilal Ökmen: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter
Elaine Jaeger: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter
Lena Schilling: Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
Natalie Finke: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter
Amy Klemd: Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
Yoon Joo Lee: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter
Raphael Wemhöner: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter
Markus Pauly: Institute for Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1
Ulla Neumann: Central Microscopy, Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Gunther Doehlemann: Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, BioCenter

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Smut fungi comprise one of the largest groups of fungal plant pathogens causing disease in all cereal crops. They directly penetrate host tissues and establish a biotrophic interaction. To do so, smut fungi secrete a wide range of effector proteins, which suppress plant immunity and modulate cellular functions as well as development of the host, thereby determining the pathogen’s lifestyle and virulence potential. The conserved effector Erc1 (enzyme required for cell-to-cell extension) contributes to virulence of the corn smut Ustilago maydis in maize leaves but not on the tassel. Erc1 binds to host cell wall components and displays 1,3-β-glucanase activity, which is required to attenuate β-glucan-induced defense responses. Here we show that Erc1 has a cell type-specific virulence function, being necessary for fungal cell-to-cell extension in the plant bundle sheath and this function is fully conserved in the Erc1 orthologue of the barley pathogen Ustilago hordei.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33815-7

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