An effector of Phthorimaea absoluta oral secretions inhibits host plant defense
Xiaodi Wang,
Xuqing Luo,
Jianyang Guo,
Nianwan Yang,
Fanghao Wan,
Zhichuang Lü,
Wanxue Liu
Affiliations
Xiaodi Wang
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xuqing Luo
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Jianyang Guo
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Nianwan Yang
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; Institute of Western Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji 831100, P.R. China
Fanghao Wan
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Zhichuang Lü
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author
Wanxue Liu
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Insects have evolved effectors to regulate host defenses for efficient feeding, yet their impact on chewing insects, like the tomato leaf miner (Phthorimaea absoluta), a significant pest, is poorly understood. We used RNAi to target the REPAT38 gene in larvae, monitoring changes at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h in leaf stomata, plant hormone concentrations (jasmonic acid (JA), jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and abscisic acid (ABA)), and 12 hormone-responsive genes to explore the molecular mechanism of REPAT38-mediated plant-insect interactions. The results showed that the effector induced stomatal closure at 0.5 h and inhibited the synthesis of JA, ET, and ABA at 1 h. Additionally, seven plant hormone-responsive genes—AOC, MYC2, ACS1A, PAL, PR1, EIL2, and SRK2E—were inhibited at various time points. Our data suggest that REPAT38, as an effector with conserved functions, can weaken tomato host defenses and conducive to insect adaptation to host plants.
