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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 17773

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Prof. Dr. Yangrong Cao

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: plant–microbe interaction; legume–rhizobium symbiosis; arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis; root nodule symbiosis; MAMP-triggered immunity
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Dear Colleagues,

One of the fundamental questions in biology is how plants, the sessile organisms, associate with different microbes that pose either pathogenesis, mutualism, or commensalism, as well as microbiota. Indeed, significant progress over the past thirty years has been made on the plant immune responses against pathogenic threats and the common signaling pathway for symbiotic interaction between plants and mutualistic microbes. However, both the ability of plants to distinguish friends from foes and the evolution of each specific type of plant–microbe interactions are unclear. This issue, entitled “Plant–Microbe Interactions”, will address questions including the molecular basis of plant–microbe interactions and the evolution of plant–microbe interactions.

Dr. Yangrong Cao
Guest Editor

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Keywords

plant innate immunity
plant–microbe interactions
root nodule symbiosis
arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis
microbiota
microbiome

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contribution of a WRKY Transcription Factor, ShWRKY81, to Powdery Mildew Resistance in Wild Tomato

by Han Wang, Wenfeng Gong, Yang Wang and Qing Ma

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2583; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032583 - 30 Jan 2023

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2768

Abstract

Tomato powdery mildew, caused by Oidium neolycopersici, is a destructive fungal disease that damages almost all of the aerial parts of tomato, causing devastating losses in tomato production worldwide. WRKY transcription factors are key regulators of plant immunity, but the roles of ShWRKYs in wild tomato Solanum habrochaites LA1777 against O. neolycopersici still remain to be uncovered. Here, we show that ShWRKY81 is an important WRKY transcription factor from wild tomato Solanum habrochaites LA1777, contributing to plant resistance against O. neolycopersici. ShWRKY81 was isolated and identified to positively modulate tomato resistance against On-Lz. The transient overexpression of the ShWRKY81-GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion protein in Nicotiana benthamiana cells revealed that ShWRKY81 was localized in the nucleus. ShWRKY81 responded differentially to abiotic and biotic stimuli, with ShWRKY81 mRNA accumulation in LA1777 seedlings upon On-Lz infection. The virus-induced gene silencing of ShWRKY81 led to host susceptibility to On-Lz in LA1777, and a loss of H₂O₂ formation and hypersensitive response (HR) induction. Furthermore, the transcripts of ShWRKY81 were induced by salicylic acid (SA), and ShWRKY81-silenced LA1777 seedlings displayed decreased levels of the defense hormone SA and SA-dependent PRs gene expression upon On-Lz infection. Together, these results demonstrate that ShWRKY81 acts as a positive player in tomato powdery mildew resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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20 pages, 3669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seeds of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni as a Source of Plant Growth-Promoting Endophytic Bacteria with the Potential to Synthesize Rebaudioside A

by Magdalena Simlat, Agata Ptak, Anita Jaglarz, Agnieszka Szewczyk, Michał Dziurka and Artur Gurgul

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2174; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032174 - 21 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2828

Abstract

In this study, a new strain of Pantoea vagans, SRS89, was isolated from surface-sterilized stevia seeds. The isolate was evaluated using morphological, molecular, and biochemical methods. The bacterium was 1.5 μm long, yellowish in color, and classified as Gram-negative. Whole genome sequencing of our strain revealed the presence of a 4,610,019 bp chromosome, and genome annotation resulted in the detection of 4283 genes encoding 4204 putative coding sequences. Phylogenic analysis classified the genome of our strain close to the MP7 and LMG 24199 strains of P. vagans. Functional analysis showed that the highest number of genes within the analyzed bacterium genome were involved in transcription, amino acid transport and metabolism, and carbohydrate transport and metabolism. We also identified genes for enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids and terpenoids. Furthermore, we showed the presence of growth regulators, with the highest amount noted for gibberellic acid A₃, indole-3-acetic acid, and benzoic acid. However, the most promising property of this strain is its ability to synthesize rebaudioside A; the estimated amount quantified using reversed-phase (RP)-HPLC was 4.39 mg/g of the dry weight of the bacteria culture. The isolated endophytic bacterium may be an interesting new approach to the production of this valuable metabolite. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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15 pages, 2158 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Different Geographic Strains of Dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum Host Highly Diverse Fungal Community and Potentially Serve as Possible Niche for Colonization of Fungal Endophytes

by Yunyan Deng, Kui Wang, Zhangxi Hu, Qiang Hu and Yingzhong Tang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 1672; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021672 - 14 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2232

Abstract

In numerous studies, researchers have explored the interactions between fungi and their hosting biota in terrestrial systems, while much less attention has been paid to the counterpart interactions in aquatic, and particularly marine, ecosystems. Despite the growing recognition of the potential functions of fungi in structuring phytoplankton communities, the current insights were mostly derived from phytoplankton hosts, such as diatoms, green microalgae, and cyanobacteria. Dinoflagellates are the second most abundant group of phytoplankton in coastal marine ecosystems, and they are notorious for causing harmful algal blooms (HABs). In this study, we used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to capture global snapshots of specific fungal assemblages associated with laboratory-cultured marine dinoflagellate. We investigated a total of 13 clonal cultures of the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum that were previously isolated from 5 geographic origins and have been maintained in our laboratory from several months to more than 14 years. The total recovered fungal microbiome, which consisted of 349 ASVs (amplicon sequencing variants, sequences clustered at a 100% sequence identity), could be assigned to 4 phyla, 18 classes, 37 orders, 65 families, 97 genera, and 131 species. The fungal consortium displayed high diversity and was dominated by filamentous fungi and ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. A core set of three genera among all the detected fungi was constitutively present in the K. veneficum strains isolated from geographically distant regions, with the top two most abundant genera, Thyridium and Pseudeurotium, capable of using hydrocarbons as the sole or major source of carbon and energy. In addition, fungal taxa previously documented as endophytes in other hosts were also found in all tested strains of K. veneficum. Because host–endophyte interactions are highly variable and strongly case-dependent, these fungal taxa were not necessarily genuine endosymbionts of K. veneficum; instead, it raised the possibility that dinoflagellates could potentially serve as an alternative ecological niche for the colonization of fungal endophytes. Our findings lay the foundation for further investigations into the potential roles or functions of fungi in the regulation of the growth dynamics and HABs of marine dinoflagellates in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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13 pages, 3468 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Functional Analyses of a Small Secreted Cysteine-Rich Protein ThSCSP_14 in Tilletia horrida

by Xinyue Shu, Deze Xu, Yuqi Jiang, Juan Liang, Ting Xiang, Yuxuan Wang, Weike Zhang, Xue Han, Chunhai Jiao, Aiping Zheng, Ping Li, Desuo Yin and Aijun Wang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(23), 15042; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232315042 - 30 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1853

Abstract

Tilletia horrida is a biotrophic basidiomycete fungus that causes rice kernel smut, one of the most significant diseases in hybrid rice-growing areas worldwide. Little is known about the pathogenic mechanisms and functions of effectors in T. horrida. Here, we performed functional studies of the effectors in T. horrida and found that, of six putative effectors tested, only ThSCSP_14 caused the cell death phenotype in epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. ThSCSP_14 was upregulated early on during the infection process, and the encoded protein was secreted. The predicted signal peptide (SP) of ThSCSP_14 was required for its ability to induce the necrosis phenotype. Furthermore, the ability of ThSCSP_14 to trigger cell death in N. benthamiana depended on suppressing the G2 allele of Skp1 (SGT1), required for Mla12 resistance (RAR1), heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90), and somatic embryogenesis receptor-like kinase (SERK3). It is important to note that ThSCSP_14 induced a plant defense response in N. benthamiana leaves. Hence, these results demonstrate that ThSCSP_14 is a possible effector that plays an essential role in T. horrida–host interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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18 pages, 16524 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ThSCSP_12: Novel Effector in Tilletia horrida That Induces Cell Death and Defense Responses in Non-Host Plants

by Xinyue Shu, Desuo Yin, Juan Liang, Deze Xu, Yuqi Jiang, Ting Xiang, Yuxuan Wang, Chunhai Jiao, Ping Li, Aiping Zheng and Aijun Wang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(23), 14752; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232314752 - 25 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1797

Abstract

The basidiomycete fungus Tilletia horrida causes rice kernel smut (RKS), a crucial disease afflicting hybrid-rice-growing areas worldwide, which results in significant economic losses. However, few studies have investigated the pathogenic mechanisms and functions of effectors in T. horrida. In this study, we found that the candidate effector ThSCSP_12 caused cell necrosis in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. The predicted signal peptide (SP) of this protein has a secreting function, which is required for ThSCSP_12 to induce cell death. The 1- 189 amino acid (aa) sequences of ThSCSP_12 are sufficient to confer it the ability to trigger cell death in N. benthamiana. The expression of ThSCSP_12 was induced and up-regulated during T. horrida infection. In addition, we also found that ThSCSP_12 localized in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of plant cells and that nuclear localization of this protein is required to induce cell death. Furthermore, the ability of ThSCSP_12 to trigger cell death in N. benthamiana depends on the (RAR1) protein required for Mla12 resistance but not on the suppressor of the G2 allele of Skp1 (SGT1), heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), or somatic embryogenesis receptor-like kinase (SERK3). Crucially, however, ThSCSP_12 induced a defense response in N. benthamiana leaves; yet, the expression of multiple defense-related genes was suppressed in response to heterologous expression in host plants. To sum up, these results strongly suggest that ThSCSP_12 operates as an effector in T. horrida–host interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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17 pages, 4707 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Establishment and Validation of a New Analysis Strategy for the Study of Plant Endophytic Microorganisms

by Feng Chen, Xianjin Wang, Guiping Qiu, Haida Liu, Yingquan Tan, Beijiu Cheng and Guomin Han

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(22), 14223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232214223 - 17 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1898

Abstract

Amplicon sequencing of bacterial or fungal marker sequences is currently the main method for the study of endophytic microorganisms in plants. However, it cannot obtain all types of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, etc., in samples, nor compare the relative content between endophytic microorganisms and plants and between different types of endophytes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a better analysis strategy for endophytic microorganism investigation. In this study, a new analysis strategy was developed to obtain endophytic microbiome information from plant transcriptome data. Results showed that the new strategy can obtain the composition of microbial communities and the relative content between plants and endophytic microorganisms, and between different types of endophytic microorganisms from the plant transcriptome data. Compared with the amplicon sequencing method, more endophytic microorganisms and relative content information can be obtained with the new strategy, which can greatly broaden the research scope and save the experimental cost. Furthermore, the advantages and effectiveness of the new strategy were verified with different analysis of the microbial composition, correlation analysis, inoculant content test, and repeatability test. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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Review

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12 pages, 1134 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Perspective of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in Rice Domestication and Breeding

by Renliang Huang, Zheng Li, Xianhua Shen, Jeongmin Choi and Yangrong Cao

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(20), 12383; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232012383 - 16 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3001

Abstract

In nature, symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi contributes to sustainable acquisition of phosphorus and other elements in over 80% of plant species; improving interactions with AM symbionts may mitigate some of the environmental problems associated with fertilizer application in grain crops such as rice. Recent developments of high-throughput genome sequencing projects of thousands of rice cultivars and the discovery of the molecular mechanisms underlying AM symbiosis suggest that interactions with AM fungi might have been an overlooked critical trait in rice domestication and breeding. In this review, we discuss genetic variation in the ability of rice to form AM symbioses and how this might have affected rice domestication. Finally, we discuss potential applications of AM symbiosis in rice breeding for more sustainable agriculture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Microbe Interactions 2.0)

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