H2020Индивидуална стипендия2021–2023

VAMEAP · Virulence Activities of the Metalloprotease Effector AVR-Pita from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2021-01-04 → 2023-01-03
Финансиране от ЕС: 184 708 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Белтъкът AVR-Pita, отделян от гъбичката Magnaporthe oryzae, се изследва като пример за механизъм, чрез който патогенът атакува ориза. Разбирането на неговата функция помага да се разбере как растенията разпознават инфекцията и се защитават от болести.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Virulence Activities of the Metalloprotease Effector AVR-Pita from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

Magnaporthe oryzae is a fungal pathogen that can cause tremendous losses on staple cereals crops such as rice and wheat. Like most pathogens, M. oryzae uses effector proteins to manipulate host cell processes and overcome plant immune reactions. These small proteins are secreted by the pathogen during the infection and can remain in the apoplast or can be transferred inside the host cell. In some cases, effector proteins are detected by the host plant which triggers a quick and strong immune response. Effectors therefore play a crucial role in determining the outcome (disease or resistance) of the interaction. In the VAMEAP project, we focused on AVR-Pita, an effector protein secreted by M. oryzae during the early steps of rice infection. AVR-Pita is particularly interesting as it can be detected by rice plants that have the cognate Pita resistance locus and efficiently protect the plant. Despite the recognition and the negative impact of AVR-Pita on the fungus fitness when confronted to resistant plant, this effector is conserved in M. oryzae populations. This suggest that this protein is otherwise important for the biology of M. oryzae. In addition, AVR-Pita shows features of metalloprotease enzyme which is uncommon among fungal effectors as most of them are small proteins without any predicted enzymatic function. Despite being identified more than 20 years ago, very little is known about the effector AVR-Pita. Next to nothing have been characterized on its virulence functions and on the metalloprotease activity. Several studies have been published on the molecular mechanisms behind the recognition of AVR-Pita by the Pita resistance locus but some of data are contradictory and the overall processes remain unclear. With this project, we focused on the characterization of the biology and virulence activities of AVR-Pita. Our research addressed: (i) The localization of AVR-Pita protein during the infection (ii) The importance of AVR-Pita for the virulence of M. oryzae (iii) The enzymatic activity of AVR-Pita and its host targets. The research of AVR-Pita biology will help to further characterize the resistance mechanisms underlying the Pita resistance locus. The VAMEAP project will also help to better understand fungal metalloproteases and their role in the biology of the fungus.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Plant diseases are a major constraint on food production. To rationally design efficient and resilient disease control strategies, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen virulence. Most pathogens rely on secreted proteins called effectors to manipulate the host machinery for their benefit and perform their life cycle. In VAMEAP, we propose to characterize the virulence activities of the metalloprotease effector AVR-Pita from Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease. Despite a strong selection pressure against this effector, AVR-Pita is maintained in populations of the pathogen suggesting a crucial role for the fitness of M. oryzae. Yet, next to nothing is known about the virulence activities or host targets of AVR-Pita. Here we propose an ambitious combination of biochemical and functional approaches to bridge this knowledge gap. We will survey the natural diversity and sequence polymorphisms in AVR-Pita and investigate the impact of its loss on the fitness of M. oryzae. We will identify the virulence targets of AVR-Pita using protein-protein interaction screens and characterize the protease activity of this effector. Beyond the knowledge that this project will gather on AVR-Pita, it will also help to understand the biology of metalloprotease effectors commonly found in fungal pathogens. The multidisciplinary approach developed in this project will be a powerful tool to further understand fungal virulence and help design new resistance strategies to control fungal crop diseases.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT · ParisКоординаторФранция