4.8 Article

Subtilase activity in intrusive cells mediates haustorium maturation in parasitic plants

Journal

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 185, Issue 4, Pages 1381-1394

Publisher

OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaa001

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Categories

Funding

  1. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology KAKENHI [18H02464, 18H04838, 15H05959, 17H06172]
  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship
  3. JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientist
  4. JST PRESTO [JPMJPR194D]
  5. RIKEN Special Postdoctoral Researchers Program
  6. German Research Foundation (DFG) [424122841]
  7. Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [18H02464, 18H04838] Funding Source: KAKEN

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This study investigated the gene expression in the intrusive cells of the facultative parasite Phtheirospermum japonicum and identified the important role of subtilisin-like serine proteases (SBTs) in haustorium development. The expression of SBT inhibitors inhibited intrusive cell and XB development, indicating the crucial role of subtilase activity in parasite-host interaction.
Parasitic plants that infect crops are devastating to agriculture throughout the world. These parasites develop a unique inducible organ called the haustorium that connects the vascular systems of the parasite and host to establish a flow of water and nutrients. Upon contact with the host, the haustorial epidermal cells at the interface with the host differentiate into specific cells called intrusive cells that grow endophytically toward the host vasculature. Following this, some of the intrusive cells re-differentiate to form a xylem bridge (XB) that connects the vasculatures of the parasite and host. Despite the prominent role of intrusive cells in host infection, the molecular mechanisms mediating parasitism in the intrusive cells remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated differential gene expression in the intrusive cells of the facultative parasite Phtheirospermum japonicum in the family Orobanchaceae by RNA-sequencing of laser-microdissected haustoria. We then used promoter analyses to identify genes that are specifically induced in intrusive cells, and promoter fusions with genes encoding fluorescent proteins to develop intrusive cell-specific markers. Four of the identified intrusive cell-specific genes encode subtilisin-like serine proteases (SBTs), whose biological functions in parasitic plants are unknown. Expression of SBT inhibitors in intrusive cells inhibited both intrusive cell and XB development and reduced auxin response levels adjacent to the area of XB development. Therefore, we propose that subtilase activity plays an important role in haustorium development in P. japonicum.

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