Cell wall-mediated root development is targeted by a soil-borne bacterial pathogen to promote infection
Gang Yu,
Lu Zhang,
Hao Xue,
Yujiao Chen,
Xin Liu,
Juan C. del Pozo,
Chunzhao Zhao,
Rosa Lozano-Duran,
Alberto P. Macho
Affiliations
Gang Yu
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Corresponding author
Lu Zhang
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Hao Xue
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yujiao Chen
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Xin Liu
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Juan C. del Pozo
Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria-CSIC (INIA/CSIC), Campus Montegancedo, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
Chunzhao Zhao
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China
Rosa Lozano-Duran
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China
Alberto P. Macho
Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Plant pathogens manipulate host development, facilitating colonization and proliferation. Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne bacterial pathogen that penetrates roots and colonizes plants through the vascular system, causing wilting and death. Here, we find that RipAC, an effector protein from R. solanacearum, alters root development in Arabidopsis, promoting the formation of lateral roots and root hairs. RipAC interacts with CELLULOSE SYNTHASE (CESA)-INTERACTIVE PROTEIN 1 (CSI1), which regulates the activity of CESA complexes at the plasma membrane. RipAC disrupts CESA-CSI1 interaction, leading to a reduction in cellulose content, root developmental alterations, and a promotion of bacterial pathogenicity. We find that CSI1 also associates with the receptor kinase FERONIA, forming a complex that negatively regulates immunity in roots; this interaction, however, is not affected by RipAC. Our work reveals a bacterial virulence strategy that selectively affects the activities of a host target, promoting anatomical alterations that facilitate infection without causing activation of immunity.
