Fusarium graminearum rapid alkalinization factor peptide negatively regulates plant immunity and cell growth via the FERONIA receptor kinase.

The plant rapid alkalinization factor (RALF) peptides function as key regulators in cell growth and immune responses through the receptor kinase FERONIA (FER). In this study, we report that the transcription factor FgPacC binds directly to the promoter of FgRALF gene, which encodes a functional homologue of the plant RALF peptides from the wheat head blight fungus Fusarium graminearum (FgRALF). More importantly, FgPacC promotes fungal infection via host immune suppression by activating the expression of FgRALF. The FgRALF peptide also exhibited typical activities of plant RALF functions, such as inducing plant alkalinization and inhibiting cell growth, including wheat (Triticum aestivum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Arabidopsis thaliana. We further identified the wheat receptor kinase FERONIA (TaFER), which is capable of restoring the defects of the A. thaliana FER mutant. In addition, we found that FgRALF peptide binds to the extracellular malectin-like domain (ECD) of TaFER (TaFERECD) to suppress the PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) and cell growth. Overexpression of TaFERECD in A. thaliana confers plant resistance to F. graminearum and protects from FgRALF-induced cell growth inhibition. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the fungal pathogen-secreted RALF mimic suppresses host immunity and inhibits cell growth via plant FER receptor. This establishes a novel pathway for the development of disease-resistant crops in the future without compromising their yield potential.

Inhibition of histone acetyltransferase GCN5 by a transcription factor FgPacC controls fungal adaption to host-derived iron stress.

Poaceae plants can locally accumulate iron to suppress pathogen infection. It remains unknown how pathogens overcome host-derived iron stress during their successful infections. Here, we report that Fusarium graminearum (Fg), a destructive fungal pathogen of cereal crops, is challenged by host-derived high-iron stress. Fg infection induces host alkalinization, and the pH-dependent transcription factor FgPacC undergoes a proteolytic cleavage into the functional isoform named FgPacC30 under alkaline host environment. Subsequently FgPacC30 binds to a GCCAR(R = A/G)G element at the promoters of the genes involved in iron uptake and inhibits their expression, leading to adaption of Fg to high-iron stress. Mechanistically, FgPacC30 binds to FgGcn5 protein, a catalytic subunit of Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex, leading to deregulation of histone acetylation at H3K18 and H2BK11, and repression of iron uptake genes. Moreover, we identified a protein kinase FgHal4, which is highly induced by extracellular high-iron stress and protects FgPacC30 against 26S proteasome-dependent degradation by promoting FgPacC30 phosphorylation at Ser2. Collectively, this study uncovers a novel inhibitory mechanism of the SAGA complex by a transcription factor that enables a fungal pathogen to adapt to dynamic microenvironments during infection.

A type VI secretion system effector TseG of Pantoea ananatis is involved in virulence and antibacterial activity.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) of many gram-negative bacteria injects toxic effectors into adjacent cells to manipulate host cells during pathogenesis or to kill competing bacteria. However, the identification and function of the T6SS effectors remains only partly known. Pantoea ananatis, a gram-negative bacterium, is commonly found in various plants and natural environments, including water and soil. In the current study, genomic analysis of P. ananatis DZ-12 causing brown stalk rot on maize demonstrated that it carries three T6SS gene clusters, namely, T6SS-1, T6SS-2, and T6SS-3. Interestingly, only T6SS-1 secretion systems are involved in pathogenicity and bacterial competition. The study also investigated the T6SS-1 system in detail and identified an unknown T6SS-1-secreted effector TseG by using the upstream T6SS effector chaperone TecG containing a conserved domain of DUF2169. TseG can directly interact with the chaperone TecG for delivery and with a downstream immunity protein TsiG for protection from its toxicity. TseG, highly conserved in the Pantoea genus, is involved in virulence in maize, potato, and onion. Additionally, P. ananatis uses TseG to target Escherichia coli, gaining a competitive advantage. This study provides the first report on the T6SS-1-secreted effector from P. ananatis, thereby enriching our understanding of the various types and functions of type VI effector proteins.

Temporally-coordinated bivalent histone modifications of BCG1 enable fungal invasion and immune evasion.

Bivalent histone modifications, including functionally opposite H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 marks simultaneously on the same nucleosome, control various cellular processes by fine-tuning the gene expression in eukaryotes. However, the role of bivalent histone modifications in fungal virulence remains elusive. By mapping the genome-wide landscape of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 dynamic modifications in Fusarium graminearum (Fg) during invasion, we identify the infection-related bivalent chromatin-marked genes (BCGs). BCG1 gene, which encodes a secreted Fusarium-specific xylanase containing a G/Q-rich motif, displays the highest increase of bivalent modification during Fg infection. We report that the G/Q-rich motif of BCG1 is a stimulator of its xylanase activity and is essential for the full virulence of Fg. Intriguingly, this G/Q-rich motif is recognized by pattern-recognition receptors to trigger plant immunity. We discover that Fg employs H3K4me3 modification to induce BCG1 expression required for host cell wall degradation. After breaching the cell wall barrier, this active chromatin state is reset to bivalency by co-modifying with H3K27me3, which enables epigenetic silencing of BCG1 to escape from host immune surveillance. Collectively, our study highlights how fungal pathogens deploy bivalent epigenetic modification to achieve temporally-coordinated activation and suppression of a critical fungal gene, thereby facilitating successful infection and host immune evasion.