The Puccinia triticina effector Pt3372 suppresses wheat innate immunity by targeting wheat TaERP3 in TcLr2a and TcLr18

作者：Xiaolei Wen, Hao Li, Jianyuan Li, Johannes Mapuranga, Na Zhang, Lulu Song, Jiaying Chang, Ruolin Li, Yue Zhang, Daqun Liu, Yang WenXiang · 发表于：Phytopathology Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s42483-025-00332-6 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity、Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis

Abstract Puccinia triticina ( Pt ) is an obligate parasitic fungus that absorbs nutrients through haustoria during infection and secretes a repertoire of effector proteins into the host cells to regulate the immune response of the host. Here, we identify an effector protein Pt3372 from the transcriptome data of interaction between the Pt race JHKT and the susceptible wheat cultivar Thatcher. Pt3372 was highly induced at the early stages in TcLr2a and TcLr18 infected by JHKT. The effector inhibited cell death induced by BAX (Bcl2-associated X) and INF1 ( Phytophthora infestans INF1) in Nicotiana benthamiana , as well as cell death induced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 in wheat. Pt3372 was proved to be localized in the cell membrane and nucleus of N. benthamiana . When transiently expressed in TcLr2a and TcLr18 through the bacterial type III secretion system, Pt3372 inhibited callose deposition and reactive oxygen species accumulation and suppressed the expression of wheat pathogenesis-related genes PR1 and PR2 . Silencing Pt3372 by host-induced gene silencing reduced the Pt race JHKT virulence on TcLr2a and TcLr18. While it was enhanced by the overexpression of Pt3372 in transgenic wheat, which had a down-regulated expression of TaPR2 and glutathione reductase TaGR. Moreover, Pt3372 targets the elicitor-responsive protein TaERP3. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the effector Pt3372 suppresses the expression of TaPR1 and TaPR2 and the innate immunity by targ...