Mishi V Vachev, Marta Bjornson, Dominique D A Pincot, Peter M Henry, Gitta L Coaker, Steven J Knapp, Mitchell J Feldmann
{"title":"Unraveling the <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>fragariae</i>-Strawberry Interaction: Evolution, Infection, and Genetic Resistance.","authors":"Mishi V Vachev, Marta Bjornson, Dominique D A Pincot, Peter M Henry, Gitta L Coaker, Steven J Knapp, Mitchell J Feldmann","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0028-IRW","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0028-IRW","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fusarium wilt of strawberry, caused by the soil-borne fungal pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>fragariae</i> (<i>Fof</i>), is one of the greatest threats to cultivated strawberry. The pathogen penetrates strawberry plants through roots, severely affecting roots and crowns and resulting in rapid wilting and death. Research into the genetic basis of resistance to <i>Fof</i> has identified five loci, <i>FW1</i> - <i>FW5</i>, that confer resistance to Fusarium wilt of strawberry and one <i>Fof</i> effector, <i>SIX6</i>. While it is hypothesized that FW1 recognizes the SIX6 effector, the underlying resistance gene is unknown. A new isolate of <i>Fof</i> that breaks <i>FW1</i>-mediated resistance recently emerged and poses a significant threat to the California strawberry industry, the source of 88-91% of the strawberries produced in the US. There are still significant gaps surrounding the molecular and physiological interaction between <i>Fof</i> and strawberry and the evolution of pathogenicity of <i>Fof</i> isolates unaffected by <i>FW1</i>. This review summarizes our current knowledge, identifies knowledge gaps, and provides a summary of genomic and molecular tools currently available to study the <i>Fof</i>-strawberry interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144794916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adenine Phosphoribosyltransferase Is a Universal Counter-Selectable Marker for DNA-Free Genome Editing in Oomycetes.","authors":"Laurent Camborde, Chalisa Jaturapaktrarak, Jérôme Gouzy, Céline Lopez-Roques, Theerapong Krajaejun, Elodie Gaulin, Yacine Badis","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-05-25-0063-TA","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-05-25-0063-TA","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>CRISPR-Cas genome editing is a powerful tool for understanding the pathogenicity of oomycetes, a group that includes several destructive plant parasites. While few <i>Phytophthora</i> species have benefited from plasmid-based transformation methods for gene overexpression and RNAi silencing, these techniques remain inefficient for other oomycete genera such as <i>Pythium</i> and <i>Aphanomyces</i>. Here, we explored the applicability of DNA-free endogenous counter-selection in filamentous oomycetes, using CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs). We used biolistics to deliver RNPs targeting the Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (<i>APT</i>) gene, and generated selectable 2-fluoroadenine-resistant mutants in <i>Aphanomyces</i>, <i>Pythium</i>, and <i>Phytophthora</i> species. Targeted mutagenesis resulted in various deletions at the expected cut-sites, confirming efficient genome editing. Knockout mutants exhibited no alterations in growth or virulence, making <i>APT</i> a suitable selectable marker gene for oomycete research. Whole genome comparative analyses on CRISPR-edited mutants revealed no or very few additional mutations in <i>A. euteiches</i> and <i>P. oligandrum</i>, and substantial off-target effects in <i>P. capsici</i>. This one-step approach circumvents the need for protoplast generation and can be broadly applied to oomycetes producing zoospores or oospores.</p>","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144768800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C H Parada-Rojas, K L Childs, M Fernandez de Soto, A Salcedo, K Pecota, G C Yencho, C Almeyda, J P Hamilton, M Kitavi, C R Buell, G C Conant, D Baltzegar, L M Quesada-Ocampo
{"title":"A Reference-Quality NLRome for the Hexaploid Sweetpotato and Diploid Wild Relatives.","authors":"C H Parada-Rojas, K L Childs, M Fernandez de Soto, A Salcedo, K Pecota, G C Yencho, C Almeyda, J P Hamilton, M Kitavi, C R Buell, G C Conant, D Baltzegar, L M Quesada-Ocampo","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0034-R","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-25-0034-R","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breeding for sweetpotato (<i>Ipomea batatas</i>) resistance requires accelerating our understanding of genomic sources of resistance. Nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) proteins represent a key component of the plant immune system that mediate plant immune responses. We cataloged the NLR diversity in 32 hexaploid sweetpotato genotypes and three diploid wild relatives using resistance gene enrichment sequencing (RenSeq) to capture and sequence full NLRs. A custom designed NLR bait-library enriched NLR genes with an average 97% target capture rate. We employed a curated database of cloned and functionally characterized NLRs to assign sequenced sweetpotato NLRs to canonical phylogenetic clades. We identified between 800 to 1,200 complete NLRs, highlighting the expanded diversity of coiled-coil NLRs (CNLs) across all genotypes. NLRs among sweetpotato genotypes exhibited large conservation across genotypes. Phylogenetic distance between 6X (hexaploid) and 2X (diploid) genotypes revealed that a small repertoire of <i>I. batatas</i> CNLs diverged from the sweetpotato wild relatives. Finally, we obtained chromosome coordinates in hexaploid (Beauregard) and diploid (<i>Ipomoea trifida</i>) genomes and recorded clustering of NLRs on chromosomes arms. Our study provides a catalog of NLR genes that can be used to accelerate breeding and increase our understanding of evolutionary dynamics of sweetpotato NLRs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144619154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CRISPR-Cas9 Mutagenesis and Gene Overexpression to Enhance Resistance to <i>Ascochyta medicaginicola</i> in <i>Medicago truncatula</i>.","authors":"Jacob R Botkin, Shaun J Curtin","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-05-25-0053-R","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-05-25-0053-R","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i>), the most widely cultivated forage legume globally is vulnerable to <i>Ascochyta medicaginicola</i>, the fungus causing spring black stem and leaf spot (SBS) disease which significantly reduces yield. SBS disease also affects <i>Medicago truncatula</i>, a diploid model legume with extensive genetic resources, including susceptible and resistant accessions. Using comparative genomics, four candidate genes for disease resistance were identified, <i>MtTCAR1</i>, <i>MtPHO2A</i>, <i>MtCPR1-like</i>, and <i>MtPAM16</i>. CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis was applied to generate independent mutant plants in the R108 accession and disease resistance was evaluated by a detached leaf qPCR-based pathogen assay. <i>MtCPR1-like</i> mutant plants exhibited a 34% reduction in pathogen biomass along with variable constitutive expression of pathogenesis-related genes. Additionally, a fifth candidate gene, <i>MtKCS12</i>, identified through transcriptomic analysis, was overexpressed in transformed plants resulting in 71.4-80.9% reduction in pathogen biomass compared to wild type segregants. This study validates gene-editing and transgenic approaches for improving SBS disease resistance in <i>M. truncatula</i> with future research focused on applying these strategies to enhance resistance in economically important alfalfa.</p>","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144575832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoxiao Zhang, Ann-Maree Catanzariti, Gregory J Lawrence, Pamela H P Gan, David A Jones, Peter N Dodds, John P Rathjen
{"title":"Translocation of Effector Proteins into Plant Cells by the Flax Rust Pathogen <i>Melampsora lini</i>.","authors":"Xiaoxiao Zhang, Ann-Maree Catanzariti, Gregory J Lawrence, Pamela H P Gan, David A Jones, Peter N Dodds, John P Rathjen","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-12-24-0150-R","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-12-24-0150-R","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During infection, rust fungi secrete effector proteins into host plant cells from haustoria to aid their colonisation. How rust effectors are secreted from the haustorium and delivered into the cytoplasm of host cells remains poorly understood. We used an <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated transformation procedure to generate stable transgenic flax rust strains expressing the effectors AvrM and AvrP123 fused to yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). We showed that both AvrM-YFP and AvrP123-YFP fusion proteins were secreted by the fungus into a narrow space surrounding the haustorium, likely the extrahaustorial matrix (EHMx); however only AvrM-YFP was delivered into host cells, triggering a typical resistance phenotype in plants carrying the corresponding resistance (<i>R</i>) gene <i>M</i>. The signal peptide of AvrM was sufficient to direct YFP secretion into the EHMx; however, delivery into the host cell required a larger 105 amino acid N-terminal fragment of AvrM. These results indicate that translocation of this protein into the host cell from the EHMx is a separate process from secretion into the EHMx and requires a signal present in AvrM between amino acids 34 and 105. This is in contrast to previous observations of AvrM localisation after transient expression in plants, highlighting the necessity for analysis in the natural infection system.</p>","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144540880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryan G Anderson, Jeff H Chang, Jeffery L Dangl, Kasia Dinkeloo, Nicole Donofrio, Thomas Eulgem, Niklaus J Grünwald, John Herlihy, Terri Long, M Shahid Mukhtar, Guillaume Pilot, Sherif M Sherif, Unnati Sonawala, Mahmut Tör, Brenda Winkel, Boris A Vinatzer
{"title":"John Matthew McDowell: A Visionary Leader in Molecular Oomycete-Plant Interactions and a Wonderful Mentor and Friend to Many.","authors":"Ryan G Anderson, Jeff H Chang, Jeffery L Dangl, Kasia Dinkeloo, Nicole Donofrio, Thomas Eulgem, Niklaus J Grünwald, John Herlihy, Terri Long, M Shahid Mukhtar, Guillaume Pilot, Sherif M Sherif, Unnati Sonawala, Mahmut Tör, Brenda Winkel, Boris A Vinatzer","doi":"10.1094/MPMI-06-25-0072-LE","DOIUrl":"10.1094/MPMI-06-25-0072-LE","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19009,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Plant-microbe Interactions","volume":" ","pages":"491-496"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144637632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}