Nature Communications (Apr 2024)

Phytoalexin sakuranetin attenuates endocytosis and enhances resistance to rice blast

  • Lihui Jiang,
  • Xiaoyan Zhang,
  • Yiting Zhao,
  • Haiyan Zhu,
  • Qijing Fu,
  • Xinqi Lu,
  • Wuying Huang,
  • Xinyue Yang,
  • Xuan Zhou,
  • Lixia Wu,
  • Ao Yang,
  • Xie He,
  • Man Dong,
  • Ziai Peng,
  • Jing Yang,
  • Liwei Guo,
  • Jiancheng Wen,
  • Huichuan Huang,
  • Yong Xie,
  • Shusheng Zhu,
  • Chengyun Li,
  • Xiahong He,
  • Youyong Zhu,
  • Jiří Friml,
  • Yunlong Du

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47746-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Phytoalexin sakuranetin functions in resistance against rice blast. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of sakuranetin remains elusive. Here, we report that rice lines expressing resistance (R) genes were found to contain high levels of sakuranetin, which correlates with attenuated endocytic trafficking of plasma membrane (PM) proteins. Exogenous and endogenous sakuranetin attenuates the endocytosis of various PM proteins and the fungal effector PWL2. Moreover, accumulation of the avirulence protein AvrCO39, resulting from uptake into rice cells by Magnaporthe oryzae, was reduced following treatment with sakuranetin. Pharmacological manipulation of clathrin-mediated endocytic (CME) suggests that this pathway is targeted by sakuranetin. Indeed, attenuation of CME by sakuranetin is sufficient to convey resistance against rice blast. Our data reveals a mechanism of rice against M. oryzae by increasing sakuranetin levels and repressing the CME of pathogen effectors, which is distinct from the action of many R genes that mainly function by modulating transcription.