Chitin-binding protein of Verticillium nonalfalfae disguises fungus from plant chitinases and suppresses chitin-triggered host immunity

Volk, Helena (author), Marton, Kristina (author), Flajšman, Marko (author), Radišek, Sebastjan (author), Tian, Hui (author), Hein, Ingo (author), Podlipnik, Črtomir (author), Thomma, Bart P. H. J. (author), Košmelj, Katarina (author), Javornik, Branka (author), Berne, Sabina (author)

During fungal infections, plant cells secrete chitinases, which digest chitin in the fungal cell walls. The recognition of released chitin oligomers via lysin motif (LysM)-containing immune host receptors results in the activation of defense signaling pathways. We report here that Verticillium nonalfalfae, a hemibiotrophic xylem-invading fungus, prevents these digestion and recognition processes by secreting a carbohydrate-binding motif 18 (CBM18)-chitin-binding protein, VnaChtBP, which is transcriptionally activated specifically during the parasitic life stages. VnaChtBP is encoded by the Vna8.213 gene, which is highly conserved within the species, suggesting high evolutionary stability and importance for the fungal lifestyle. In a pathogenicity assay, however, Vna8.213 knockout mutants exhibited wilting symptoms similar to the wild-type fungus, suggesting that Vna8.213 activity is functionally redundant during fungal infection of hop. In a binding assay, recombinant VnaChtBP bound chitin and chitin oligomers in vitro with submicromolar affinity and protected fungal hyphae from degradation by plant chitinases. Moreover, the chitin-triggered production of reactive oxygen species from hop suspension cells was abolished in the presence of VnaChtBP, indicating that VnaChtBP also acts as a suppressor of chitin-triggered immunity. Using a yeast-two-hybrid assay, circular dichroism, homology modeling, and molecular docking, we demonstrated that VnaChtBP forms dimers in the absence of ligands and that this interaction is stabilized by the binding of chitin hexamers with a similar preference in the two binding sites. Our data suggest that, in addition to chitin-binding LysM (CBM50) and Avr4 (CBM14) fungal effectors, structurally unrelated CBM18 effectors have convergently evolved to prevent hydrolysis of the fungal cell wall against plant chitinases and to interfere with chitin-triggered host immunity.

• Language: English
• Keywords: fungal effectors, fungus–plant interactions, mechanisms of pathogenicity
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty; FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: Str. 1378-1390
• Numbering: Vol. 32, no. 10
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128227
• UDC: 577.27
• ISSN on article: 0894-0282
• DOI: 10.1094/MPMI-03-19-0079-R
• COBISS.SI-ID: 9214841

Copyright

V članku in na pristajalni strani navedeno: »© 2019 The American Phytopathological Society«. Na pristajalni strani navedena ikona odprte zelene ključavnice in oznaka OPEN z dopisom v oblačku: »This content is available through an open access license«. Na založnikovih spletnih straneh z navodili za avtorje (Information for Authors) je za publikacijo Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (MPMI) navedena možnost avtorjevega izbora licence CC BY (poglavji Article Publication Charges/Open Access ter How to Submit an Article); v poglavju Policies/Repositories Policy je navedena pravica avtorjev, da katerokoli različico svojega članka shranijo v repozitorij: »APS Gold Open Access Journals /…/ Authors may deposit any version of their article in an institutional or other repository without restriction.« (https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/page/authorinformation, 7. 7. 2021)

• Publication date in RUL: 07.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Molecular plant-microbe interactions
• Shortened title: Mol. plant-microb. interact.
• Publisher: American Phytopathological Society, International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
• ISSN: 0894-0282
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25976064

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.10.2019

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: verticillium nonalfalfae, molekulske osnove imunosti, molekularna imunologija, glivične bolezni, hmelj, bolezni rastlin