Characterization of a Small Cysteine-Rich Secreted Effector, TcSCP_9014, in <i>Tilletia controversa</i>
Zhenzhen Du,
Han Weng,
Huanyu Jia,
Bin Zhang,
Boming Wu,
Wanquan Chen,
Taiguo Liu,
Li Gao
Affiliations
Zhenzhen Du
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Han Weng
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Huanyu Jia
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Bin Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Boming Wu
College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Wanquan Chen
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Taiguo Liu
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Li Gao
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Tilletia controversa J. G. Kühn is the causal agent of wheat dwarf bunt (DB), a destructive disease causing tremendous economic losses. Small cysteine-rich secreted proteins (SCPs) of plant fungi are crucial in modulating host immunity and promoting infection. Little is known about the virulence effectors of T. controversa. Here, we characterized TcSCP_9014, a novel effector of SCPs, in T. controversa which suppressed programmed cell death triggered by BAX without relying on its signal peptide (SP). The SP in the N-terminus of TcSCP_9014 was functional in the secretory process. Live-cell imaging in the epidermal cells of Nicothiana benthamiana suggested that TcSCP_9014 localized to the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. Furthermore, yeast cDNA library screening was performed to obtain the interacting proteins in wheat. Yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assays were applied to validate the interaction of TcSCP_9014 with TaMTAN and TaGAPDH. Our work revealed that the novel effector TcSCP_9014 is vital in modulating plant immunity, which opens up new avenues for plant-pathogen interactions in the T. controversa infection process.
