Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Crop Integrated Pest Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2024 Jan;22(1):148-164. doi: 10.1111/pbi.14174. Epub 2023 Sep 16.
Rice false smut caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is a devastating rice (Oryza sativa) disease worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying U. virens-rice interactions are largely unknown. In this study, we identified a secreted protein, Uv1809, as a key virulence factor. Heterologous expression of Uv1809 in rice enhanced susceptibility to rice false smut and bacterial blight. Host-induced gene silencing of Uv1809 in rice enhanced resistance to U. virens, suggesting that Uv1809 inhibits rice immunity and promotes infection by U. virens. Uv1809 suppresses rice immunity by targeting and enhancing rice histone deacetylase OsSRT2-mediated histone deacetylation, thereby reducing H4K5ac and H4K8ac levels and interfering with the transcriptional activation of defence genes. CRISPR-Cas9 edited ossrt2 mutants showed no adverse effects in terms of growth and yield but displayed broad-spectrum resistance to rice pathogens, revealing a potentially valuable genetic resource for breeding disease resistance. Our study provides insight into defence mechanisms against plant pathogens that inactivate plant immunity at the epigenetic level.
由稻绿核菌引起的水稻假黑粉病是一种世界性的破坏性水稻(Oryza sativa)病害。然而,稻绿核菌与水稻相互作用的分子机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这项研究中,我们鉴定了一个分泌蛋白 Uv1809 是一个关键的毒力因子。在水稻中异源表达 Uv1809 增强了对水稻假黑粉病和细菌性条斑病的易感性。在水稻中对 Uv1809 进行寄主诱导基因沉默增强了对稻绿核菌的抗性,表明 Uv1809 抑制了水稻的免疫反应,并促进了稻绿核菌的感染。Uv1809 通过靶向和增强水稻组蛋白去乙酰化酶 OsSRT2 介导的组蛋白去乙酰化来抑制水稻的免疫,从而降低 H4K5ac 和 H4K8ac 水平,并干扰防御基因的转录激活。CRISPR-Cas9 编辑的 ossrt2 突变体在生长和产量方面没有不良影响,但对水稻病原体表现出广谱抗性,为培育抗病性提供了一种有潜在价值的遗传资源。我们的研究为植物防御机制提供了新的见解,揭示了植物免疫在表观遗传水平上被失活的机制。