Journal Article

Pathogenic Bacteria Target Plant Plasmodesmata to Colonize and Invade Surrounding Tissues

Alfano, James R., Joe, Anna, Kvitko, Brian, Li, Zhongpeng, Kim, Panya, He, Sheng Yang, Aung, Kyaw

2020

Overview

A hallmark of multicellular organisms is their ability to maintain physiological homeostasis by communicating among cells, tissues, and organs. In plants, intercellular communication is largely dependent on plasmodesmata (PD), which are membrane-lined channels connecting adjacent plant cells. Upon immune stimulation, plants close PD as part of their immune responses. Here, we show that the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae deploys an effector protein, HopO1-1, that modulates PD function. HopO1-1 is required for P. syringae to spread locally to neighboring tissues during infection. Expression of HopO1-1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) increases the distance of PD-dependent molecular flux between neighboring plant cells. Being a putative ribosyltransferase, the catalytic activity of HopO1-1 is required for regulation of PD. HopO1-1 physically interacts with and destabilizes the plant PD-located protein PDLP7 and possibly PDLP5. Both PDLPs are involved in bacterial immunity. Our findings reveal that a pathogenic bacterium utilizes an effector to manipulate PD-mediated host intercellular communication for maximizing the spread of bacterial infection.

• Publisher: American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB),American Society of Plant Biologists
• Subject: Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose - metabolism / Arabidopsis - immunology / Arabidopsis - metabolism / Arabidopsis - microbiology / Arabidopsis Proteins - chemistry / Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism / Bacterial Proteins - metabolism / Cell Membrane - metabolism / Plant Immunity / Plasmodesmata - microbiology / Protein Binding / Protein Domains / Protein Stability / Protein Transport / Pseudomonas syringae - growth & development / Pseudomonas syringae - immunology / Pseudomonas syringae - pathogenicity / Virulence