Project description:Some pathogen-derived effectors reprogram mRNA splicing in their host plant to regulate plant immune responses. The fungus Exserohilum turcicum is the causal agent of northern corn leaf blight, a damaging maize (Zea mays) disease. However, the low efficiency of genetic transformation of E. turcicum has hampered research on its effectors and whether E. turcicum effectors interfere with RNA splicing remained unknown. Here, using an alternative splicing (AS) reporter system, we identified the secreted protein EtEC81 (Exserohilum turcicum effector 81), which modulates the AS of maize pre-mRNAs and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of E. turcicum. EtEC81 physically interacts with EtEC81-interactiNG protein 1 (ZmEIP1), which associates with maize spliceosome components, regulating AS and positively regulating the defense response against E. turcicum. EtEC81 binding further enhanced the effect of ZmEIP1 on AS. Transcriptome analysis revealed 119 common genes with altered AS in maize plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 or EtEC81, suggesting that these factors cause the mis-regulation of cellular activities and thus induce immune responses. We used RT-qPCR to verify representative AS events in the plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 and EtEC81. Together, our results suggest that the EtEC81 effector targets ZmEIP1 to reprogram pre-mRNA splicing in maize.
Project description:The fungus Exserohilum turcicum is the causal agent of northern corn leaf blight, a damaging maize (Zea mays) disease worldwide. Here, using an alternative splicing (AS) reporter system, we identified the secreted protein EtEC81 (Exserohilum turcicum effector 81), which modulates the AS of maize pre-mRNAs and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of E. turcicum. EtEC81 physically interacts with EtEC81-interactiNG protein 1 (ZmEIP1), which associates with maize spliceosome components, regulating AS and positively regulating the defense response against E. turcicum. EtEC81 binding further enhanced the effect of ZmEIP1 on AS.
Project description:Wall associated kinases (WAKs) have recently been identified as major components of fungal and bacterial disease resistance in several cereal crop species. However, the molecular mechanisms of WAK-mediated resistance remain largely unknown. Here, we applied the RNAseq approach to investigate the function of the maize gene ZmWAK-RLK1 (Htn1) that confers quantitative resistance to northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) caused by the hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen Exserohilum turcicum. A transcriptome analysis of near-isogenic lines (NILs) differing for ZmWAK-RLK1 revealed that several genes involved in the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolites benzoxazinoids (BXDs) were differentially expressed in the presence of ZmWAK-RLK1.