The M35 Metalloprotease Effector FocM35_1 Is Required for Full Virulence of <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>cubense</i> Tropical Race 4
Xiaoxia Zhang,
Huoqing Huang,
Bangting Wu,
Jianghui Xie,
Altus Viljoen,
Wei Wang,
Diane Mostert,
Yanling Xie,
Gang Fu,
Dandan Xiang,
Shuxia Lyu,
Siwen Liu,
Chunyu Li
Affiliations
Xiaoxia Zhang
College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Huoqing Huang
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Bangting Wu
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jianghui Xie
Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China
Altus Viljoen
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Wei Wang
Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China
Diane Mostert
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Yanling Xie
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Gang Fu
Institute of Plant Protection, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Biology for Crop Diseases and Insect Pests, Nanning 530007, China
Dandan Xiang
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Shuxia Lyu
College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Siwen Liu
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Chunyu Li
Key Laboratory of South Subtropical Fruit Biology and Genetic Resource Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Tree Research of Guangdong Province, Institution of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) causes Fusarium wilt of banana, the most devastating disease on a banana plant. The genome of Foc TR4 encodes many candidate effector proteins. However, little is known about the functions of these effector proteins on their contributions to disease development and Foc TR4 virulence. Here, we discovered a secreted metalloprotease, FocM35_1, which is an essential virulence effector of Foc TR4. FocM35_1 was highly upregulated during the early stages of Foc TR4 infection progress in bananas. The FocM35_1 knockout mutant compromised the virulence of Foc TR4. FocM35_1 could interact with the banana chitinase MaChiA, and it decreased banana chitinase activity. FocM35_1 induced cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana while suppressing the INF1-induced hypersensitive response (HR), and its predicted enzymatic site was required for lesion formation and the suppression to INF1-induced HR on N. benthamiana leaves. Importantly, treatment of banana leaves with recombinant FocM35_1 accelerates Foc TR4 infection. Collectively, our study provides evidence that metalloprotease effector FocM35 seems to contribute to pathogen virulence by inhibiting the host immunity.
