How filamentous pathogens co-opt plants: the ins and outs of fungal effectors

Research on effectors secreted by pathogens during host attack has dominated the field of molecular plant-microbe interactions over recent years. Functional analysis of type III secreted effectors injected by pathogenic bacteria into host cells has significantly advanced the field and demonstrated that many function to suppress host defense. Fungal and oomycete effectors are delivered outside the host plasma membrane, and although research has lagged behind on bacterial effectors, we are gradually learning more and more about the functions of these effectors. While some function outside the host cell to disarm defense, others exploit host cellular uptake mechanisms to suppress defense or liberate nutrients intracellularly. Comparative genomics suggests that the organization of effector genes drives effector evolution in many pathogen genomes.     

Redefining plant systems biology: from cell to ecosystem

Molecular biologists typically restrict systems biology to cellular levels. By contrast, ecologists define biological systems as communities of interacting individuals at different trophic levels that process energy, nutrient and information flows. Modern plant breeding needs to increase agricultural productivity while decreasing the ecological footprint. This requires a holistic systems biology approach that couples different aggregation levels while considering the variables that affect these biological systems from cell to community. The challenge is to generate accurate experimental data that can be used together with modelling concepts and techniques that allow experimentally verifying in silico predictions. The coupling of aggregation levels in plant sciences, termed Integral Quantification of Biological Organization (IQ(BiO)), might enhance our abilities to generate new desired plant phenotypes.     

NmDef02, a novel antimicrobial gene isolated from Nicotiana megalosiphon confers high‐level pathogen resistance under greenhouse and field conditions

Plant defensins are small cysteine‐rich peptides that inhibit the growth of a broad range of microbes. In this article, we describe NmDef02, a novel cDNA encoding a putative defensin isolated from Nicotiana megalosiphon upon inoculation with the tobacco blue mould pathogen Peronospora hyoscyami f.sp. tabacina. NmDef02 was heterologously expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris, and the purified recombinant protein was found to display antimicrobial activity in vitro against important plant pathogens. Constitutive expression of NmDef02 gene in transgenic tobacco and potato plants enhanced resistance against various plant microbial pathogens, including the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, causal agent of the economically important potato late blight disease, under greenhouse and field conditions.     

Quantitative assessment of phytopathogenic fungi in various substrates using a DNA macroarray

Detection, identification and quantification of plant pathogens are the cornerstones of preventive plant disease management. To detect multiple pathogens in a single assay, DNA array technology currently is the most suitable technique. However, for sensitive detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification before array hybridization is required. To evaluate whether DNA array technology can be used to simultaneously detect and quantify multiple pathogens, a DNA macroarray was designed and optimized for accurate quantification over at least three orders of magnitude of the economically important vascular wilt pathogens Verticillium albo-atrum and Verticillium dahliae. A strong correlation was observed between hybridization signals and pathogen concentrations for standard DNA added to DNA from different origins and for infested samples. While accounting for specific criteria like amount of immobilized detector oligonucleotide and controls for PCR kinetics, accurate quantification of pathogens was achieved in concentration ranges typically encountered in horticultural practice. Subsequently, quantitative assessment of other tomato pathogens (Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani) in environmental samples was performed using DNA array technology and correlated to measurements obtained using real-time PCR. As both methods of quantification showed a very high degree of correlation, the reliability and robustness of the DNA array technology is shown.     

Plant defensins

Plant defensins are small, basic peptides that have a characteristic three-dimensional folding pattern that is stabilized by eight disulfide-linked cysteines. They are termed plant defensins because they are structurally related to defensins found in other types of organism, including humans. To date, sequences of more than 80 different plant defensin genes from different plant species are available. In Arabidopsis thaliana, at least 13 putative plant defensin genes (PDF) are present, encoding 11 different plant defensins. Two additional genes appear to encode plant defensin fusions. Plant defensins inhibit the growth of a broad range of fungi but seem nontoxic to either mammalian or plant cells. Antifungal activity of defensins appears to require specific binding to membrane targets. This review focuses on the classification of plant defensins in general and in Arabidopsis specifically, and on the mode of action of plant defensins against fungal pathogens.