Dataset Information

Activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases suggests a role during host invasion by the parasitic plant Cuscuta reflexa.

ABSTRACT: The parasitic vines of the genus Cuscuta form haustoria that grow into other plants and connect with their vascular system, thus allowing the parasite to feed on its host. A major obstacle that meets the infection organ as it penetrates the host tissue is the rigid plant cell wall. In the present study, we examined the activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases (XTHs) during the host-invasive growth of the haustorium. The level of xyloglucan endotransglucosylation (XET) activity was found to peak at the penetrating stage of Cuscuta reflexa on its host Pelargonium zonale. In vivo colocalization of XET activity and donor substrate demonstrated XET activity at the border between host and parasite. A test for secretion of XET-active enzymes from haustoria of C. reflexa corroborated this and further indicated that the xyloglucan-modifying enzymes originated from the parasite. A known inhibitor of XET, Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250, was shown to reduce the level of XET in penetrating haustoria of C. reflexa. Moreover, the coating of P. zonale petioles with the inhibitor compound lowered the number of successful haustorial invasions of this otherwise compatible host plant. The presented data indicate that the activity of Cuscuta XTHs at the host-parasite interface is essential to penetration of host plant tissue.

SUBMITTER: Olsen S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5407826 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases suggests a role during host invasion by the parasitic plant Cuscuta reflexa.

Olsen Stian S Krause Kirsten K

PloS one 20170427 4

The parasitic vines of the genus Cuscuta form haustoria that grow into other plants and connect with their vascular system, thus allowing the parasite to feed on its host. A major obstacle that meets the infection organ as it penetrates the host tissue is the rigid plant cell wall. In the present study, we examined the activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases (XTHs) during the host-invasive growth of the haustorium. The level of xyloglucan endotransglucosylation (XET) activity was ...[more]

PMID: 28448560

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The holoparasitic plant genus Cuscuta comprises species with photosynthetic capacity and functional chloroplasts as well as achlorophyllous and intermediate forms with restricted photosynthetic activity and degenerated chloroplasts. Previous data indicated significant differences with respect to the plastid genome coding capacity in different Cuscuta species that could correlate with their photosynthetic activity. In order to shed light on the molecular changes accompanying the parasitic lifestyle, we sequenced the plastid chromosomes of the two species Cuscuta reflexa and Cuscuta gronovii. Both species are capable of performing photosynthesis, albeit with varying efficiencies. Together with the plastid genome of Epifagus virginiana, an achlorophyllous parasitic plant whose plastid genome has been sequenced, these species represent a series of progression towards total dependency on the host plant, ranging from reduced levels of photosynthesis in C. reflexa to a restricted photosynthetic activity and degenerated chloroplasts in C. gronovii to an achlorophyllous state in E. virginiana. RESULTS: The newly sequenced plastid genomes of C. reflexa and C. gronovii reveal that the chromosome structures are generally very similar to that of non-parasitic plants, although a number of species-specific insertions, deletions (indels) and sequence inversions were identified. However, we observed a gradual adaptation of the plastid genome to the different degrees of parasitism. The changes are particularly evident in C. gronovii and include (a) the parallel losses of genes for the subunits of the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase and the corresponding promoters from the plastid genome, (b) the first documented loss of the gene for a putative splicing factor, MatK, from the plastid genome and (c) a significant reduction of RNA editing. CONCLUSION: Overall, the comparative genomic analysis of plastid DNA from parasitic plants indicates a bias towards a simplification of the plastid gene expression machinery as a consequence of an increasing dependency on the host plant. A tentative assignment of the successive events in the adaptation of the plastid genomes to parasitism can be inferred from the current data set. This includes (1) a loss of non-coding regions in photosynthetic Cuscuta species that has resulted in a condensation of the plastid genome, (2) the simplification of plastid gene expression in species with largely impaired photosynthetic capacity and (3) the deletion of a significant part of the genetic information, including the information for the photosynthetic apparatus, in non-photosynthetic parasitic plants.

Dataset Information

Activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases suggests a role during host invasion by the parasitic plant Cuscuta reflexa.

Publications

Activity of xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases suggests a role during host invasion by the parasitic plant Cuscuta reflexa.

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