Expression of a mycoparasite protease in plant petals suppresses the petal-mediated infection by necrotrophic pathogens
Yongchun Wang,
Han Yu,
Yuping Xu,
Mingde Wu,
Jing Zhang,
Kenichi Tsuda,
Shengyi Liu,
Daohong Jiang,
Weidong Chen,
Yangdou Wei,
Guoqing Li,
Long Yang
Affiliations
Yongchun Wang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Han Yu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Yuping Xu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Mingde Wu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Jing Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Kenichi Tsuda
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, China
Shengyi Liu
Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Oil Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan, China
Daohong Jiang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, China
Weidong Chen
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Yangdou Wei
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Guoqing Li
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Long Yang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are necrotrophic plant-pathogenic fungi, causing substantial economic losses on many crops. So far, resistant cultivars against these pathogens are unavailable in most crops. Here, we show that the serine protease CmSp1 of Coniothyrium minitans, a well-characterized mycoparasite of S. sclerotiorum, contributed to suppressing the petal-mediated infection by S. sclerotiorum in rapeseed. Application of recombinant CmSp1 proteins facilitates the bulk degradation of S. sclerotiorum proteins and inhibits spore germination and hyphal growth of S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea, thereby preventing the development of both diseases. Stable transgenic rapeseed plants with tissue-specific expression of CmSp1 in flower petals inhibit the petal-mediated infection by both S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea, and resulting transgenic plants have no adverse effect on other agronomic traits. Thus, our findings provide a novel mechanism by which a mycoparasite inhibits fungal pathogens and an environmentally friendly disease management strategy.
