The plant specific transcription factors CBP60g and SARD1 are targeted by a Verticillium secretory protein VdSCP41 to modulate immunity
Abstract
The vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae infects the roots of plants to cause Verticillium wilt. The molecular mechanisms underlying V. dahliae virulence and host resistance remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that a secretory protein, VdSCP41, functions as an intracellular effector that promotes V. dahliae virulence. The Arabidopsis master immune regulators CBP60g and SARD1 and cotton GhCBP60b are targeted by VdSCP41. VdSCP41 binds the C-terminal portion of CBP60g to inhibit its transcription factor activity. Further analyses reveal a transcription activation domain within CBP60g that is required for VdSCP41 targeting. Mutations in both CBP60g and SARD1 compromise Arabidopsis resistance against V. dahliae and partially impair VdSCP41-mediated virulence. Moreover, Virus-induced silencing of GhCBP60b compromises cotton resistance to V. dahliae. This work uncovers a virulence strategy in which the V. dahliae secretory protein, VdSCP41, directly targets plant transcription factors to inhibit immunity, and reveals CBP60g, SARD1 and GhCBP60b as crucial components governing V. dahliae resistance.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB11020600)
- Hui-Shan Guo
- Jie Zhang
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31730078)
- Jun Qin
- Hui-Shan Guo
- Jie Zhang
The Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Jie Zhang
The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB11040500)
- Hui-Shan Guo
- Jie Zhang
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31571968)
- Jun Qin
- Hui-Shan Guo
- Jie Zhang
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31501593)
- Jun Qin
- Hui-Shan Guo
- Jie Zhang
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Gary Stacey, University of Missouri, United States
Version history
- Received: January 11, 2018
- Accepted: May 11, 2018
- Accepted Manuscript published: May 14, 2018 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: June 8, 2018 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2018, Qin et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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