A catalogue of virulence strategies mediated by phytopathogenic effectors

Abstract

Plant diseases cause dramatic economic loss, posing a major challenge to modern agriculture. Plant pathogenic organisms secret effectors that utilize fascinating and intricate stratagems to facilitate infection. The consequences of plant-pathogen interactions are largely determined by effectors. The effector research has made great strides since its inception in the 1990s and the importance of effectors is increasingly noticed. Molecular investigation of effectors has provided critical insights into how plant pathogens manipulate their hosts to cause diseases. Thus far, numerous excellent reviews concerning effectors have focused on their targeting host pathways, recognition by host receptors, and evasion mechanisms, but few have ever summarized all known effector action modes. Here, we distinguish ten different stratagems of effector function from all types of pathogens, including damage, inhibition, hijacking, promotion, subversion, mimicry, reprogramming, evasion, decoying, and adaption. Furthermore, we discuss examples of these ten stratagems, refine the effector definition, and propose future directions of phytopathogenic effector research.