Pseudomonas syringae coffee blight is associated with the horizontal transfer of plasmid-encoded type III effectors.

The emergence of new pathogens is an ongoing threat to human health and agriculture. While zoonotic spillovers received considerable attention, the emergence of crop diseases is less well studied. Here, we identify genomic factors associated with the emergence of Pseudomonas syringae bacterial blight of coffee. Fifty-three P. syringae strains from diseased Brazilian coffee plants were sequenced. Comparative and evolutionary analyses were used to identify loci associated with coffee blight. Growth and symptomology assays were performed to validate the findings. Coffee isolates clustered in three lineages, including primary phylogroups PG3 and PG4, and secondary phylogroup PG11. Genome-wide association study of the primary PG strains identified 37 loci, including five effectors, most of which were encoded on a plasmid unique to the PG3 and PG4 coffee strains. Evolutionary analyses support the emergence of coffee blight in PG4 when the coffee-associated plasmid and associated effectors derived from a divergent plasmid carried by strains associated with other hosts. This plasmid was only recently transferred into PG3. Natural diversity and CRISPR-Cas9 plasmid curing were used to show that strains with the coffee-associated plasmid grow to higher densities and cause more severe disease symptoms in coffee. This work identifies possible evolutionary mechanisms underlying the emergence of a new lineage of coffee pathogens.

A "Whirly" transcription factor is required for salicylic acid-dependent disease resistance in Arabidopsis.

Transcriptional reprogramming is critical for plant disease resistance responses; its global control is not well understood. Salicylic acid (SA) can induce plant defense gene expression and a long-lasting disease resistance state called systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Plant-specific "Whirly" DNA binding proteins were previously implicated in defense gene regulation. We demonstrate that the potato StWhy1 protein is a transcriptional activator of genes containing the PBF2 binding PB promoter element. DNA binding activity of AtWhy1, the Arabidopsis StWhy1 ortholog, is induced by SA and is required for both SA-dependent disease resistance and SA-induced expression of an SAR response gene. AtWhy1 is required for both full basal and specific disease resistance responses. The transcription factor-associated protein NPR1 is also required for SAR. Surprisingly, AtWhy1 activation by SA is NPR1 independent, suggesting that AtWhy1 works in conjunction with NPR1 to transduce the SA signal. Our analysis of AtWhy1 adds a critical component to the SA-dependent plant disease resistance response.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of p24, a component of the potato nuclear factor PBF-2.

The Solanum tuberosum (potato) nuclear factor PBF-2 is implicated in pathogen-induced expression of the pathogenesis-related gene PR-10a. Crystals of the DNA-binding component of PBF-2, p24, have been obtained at 277 K in 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0. Recombinant protein with a His tag at its C-terminus was overexpressed in Escherichia coli in the presence and absence of selenomethionine and was purified using a combination of HiTrap affinity columns and gel-filtration chromatography. Crystals suitable for structural analysis were obtained for both native and selenomethionine-labelled proteins and yielded diffraction data at 100 K that were processed to 2.3 and 2.8 A resolution, respectively. The p24 protein crystals belong to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 69.4 (69.1), b = 89.4 (90.5), c = 144.1 (144.3) A. The asymmetric unit contains four protomers, giving a crystal volume per protein mass (V(M)) of 2.23 A(3) Da(-1) and a solvent content of 45% by volume.