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Plant-Fungi Interaction
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Plant-Fungi Interaction

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 11516

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Artemio Mendoza-Mendoza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
Interests: signalling; biocontrol; plant–microbe interactions; molecular biology; biochemistry; cell biology; microbial bioactive compounds; Trichoderma
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are colonised by an astonishing diversity of microorganisms, including fungi that find in plants a niche to live and thrive. However, plant colonisation does not, as a rule, inflict disease symptoms. By contrast, a comprehensive continuum of biotic interactions occurs in plants, within many cases, going unnoticed by their host.

Fossil records strongly indicate that plants and fungi have been interacting for more than 400 million years. Recent hypotheses suggest that plant–fungal associations were essential for land colonisation by both plants and fungi. These hypotheses support the importance of plant–fungal symbioses as a key component during the invasion of new environments. How do these fungal interactions modulate plant fitness today, and how do plants aid fungi? What fungal factors contribute to the establishment and maintenance of these plant–microbial interactions? A dynamic plant–fungal communication occurs during these interactions that contributes to the stability of the assocation. In natural environments, these interactions are further influenced by biotic (soil microbiome, plant microbiome, etc.) and abiotic (temperature, humidity, soil nutrition, pH, water content, oxygen, etc.) factors.

This Special Issue is intended to increase our understanding of: (1) how plants and beneficial fungi (including but not restricted to endophytes, endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi) communicate with each other, including the role of effector proteins, secondary metabolites, small RNAs, etc; and (2) how plants are shaped from the fungal association (enhanced plant growth, developmental changes, modified biotic and abiotic stress resistance, etc).

Dr. Artemio Mendoza
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • endophytes
  • mycorrhizal fungi
  • biofertilisers
  • effectors
  • secondary metabolites
  • chemical signals
  • plant defense
  • plant protection

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 8060 KiB  
Article
AtRAC7/ROP9 Small GTPase Regulates A. thaliana Immune Systems in Response to B. cinerea Infection
by Ivette García-Soto, Damien Formey, Angélica Mora-Toledo, Luis Cárdenas, Wendy Aragón, Alexandre Tromas, Arianna Duque-Ortiz, Juan Francisco Jiménez-Bremont and Mario Serrano
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(1), 591; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010591 - 2 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1679
Abstract
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that can cause gray mold in over 1400 plant species. Once it is detected by Arabidopsis thaliana, several defense responses are activated against this fungus. The proper activation of these defenses determines plant susceptibility or resistance. [...] Read more.
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that can cause gray mold in over 1400 plant species. Once it is detected by Arabidopsis thaliana, several defense responses are activated against this fungus. The proper activation of these defenses determines plant susceptibility or resistance. It has been proposed that the RAC/ROP small GTPases might serve as a molecular link in this process. In this study, we investigate the potential role of the Arabidopsis RAC7 gene during infection with B. cinerea. For that, we evaluated A. thaliana RAC7-OX lines, characterized by the overexpression of the RAC7 gene. Our results reveal that these RAC7-OX lines displayed increased susceptibility to B. cinerea infection, with enhanced fungal colonization and earlier lesion development. Additionally, they exhibited heightened sensitivity to bacterial infections caused by Pseudomonas syringae and Pectobacterium brasiliense. By characterizing plant canonical defense mechanisms and performing transcriptomic profiling, we determined that RAC7-OX lines impaired the plant transcriptomic response before and during B. cinerea infection. Global pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested that RAC7 influences pathogen perception, cell wall homeostasis, signal transduction, and biosynthesis and response to hormones and antimicrobial compounds through actin filament modulation. Herein, we pointed out, for first time, the negative role of RAC7 small GTPase during A. thaliana–B. cinerea interaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungi Interaction)
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14 pages, 3129 KiB  
Article
A Putative Effector CcSp84 of Cytospora chrysosperma Localizes to the Plant Nucleus to Trigger Plant Immunity
by Zhiye Xu, Dianguang Xiong, Zhu Han and Chengming Tian
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(3), 1614; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031614 - 30 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3060
Abstract
Cytospora chrysosperma is the main causal agent of poplar canker disease in China, especially in some areas with poor site conditions. Pathogens secrete a large number of effectors to interfere the plant immunity and promote their infection and colonization. Nevertheless, the roles of [...] Read more.
Cytospora chrysosperma is the main causal agent of poplar canker disease in China, especially in some areas with poor site conditions. Pathogens secrete a large number of effectors to interfere the plant immunity and promote their infection and colonization. Nevertheless, the roles of effectors in C. chrysosperma remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized a candidate effector CcSp84 from C. chrysosperma, which contained a nuclear localization signal motif at the C-terminal and was highly induced during infection stages. Transient expression of CcSp84 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves could trigger cell death. Additionally, deletion of CcSp84 significantly reduced fungal virulence to the polar twigs, while no obvious defects were observed in fungal growth and sensitivity to H2O2. Confocal microscopy revealed that CcSp84 labeled with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) was mainly accumulated in the plant nucleus. Further analysis revealed that the plant nucleus localization of CcSp84 was necessary to trigger plant immune responses, including ROS accumulation, callose deposition, and induced expression of jasmonic acid and ethylene defense-related genes. Collectively, our results suggest that CcSp84 is a virulence-related effector, and plant nucleus localization is required for its functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungi Interaction)
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18 pages, 2974 KiB  
Article
Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza on Primary Metabolites in Phloem Exudates of Plantago major and Poa annua and on a Generalist Aphid
by Jana Stallmann and Rabea Schweiger
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(23), 13086; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222313086 - 3 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2002
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), i.e., the interaction of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), often influences plant growth, physiology, and metabolism. Effects of AM on the metabolic composition of plant phloem sap may affect aphids. We investigated the impacts of AM on primary metabolites [...] Read more.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), i.e., the interaction of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), often influences plant growth, physiology, and metabolism. Effects of AM on the metabolic composition of plant phloem sap may affect aphids. We investigated the impacts of AM on primary metabolites in phloem exudates of the plant species Plantago major and Poa annua and on the aphid Myzus persicae. Plants were grown without or with a generalist AMF species, leaf phloem exudates were collected, and primary metabolites were measured. Additionally, the performance of M. persicae on control and mycorrhizal plants of both species was assessed. While the plant species differed largely in the relative proportions of primary metabolites in their phloem exudates, metabolic effects of AM were less pronounced. Slightly higher proportions of sucrose and shifts in proportions of some amino acids in mycorrhizal plants indicated changes in phloem upload and resource allocation patterns within the plants. Aphids showed a higher performance on P. annua than on P. major. AM negatively affected the survival of aphids on P. major, whereas positive effects of AM were found on P. annua in a subsequent generation. Next to other factors, the metabolic composition of the phloem exudates may partly explain these findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungi Interaction)
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Review

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18 pages, 1940 KiB  
Review
Exploiting Structural Modelling Tools to Explore Host-Translocated Effector Proteins
by Sahel Amoozadeh, Jodie Johnston and Claudia-Nicole Meisrimler
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(23), 12962; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222312962 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3608
Abstract
Oomycete and fungal interactions with plants can be neutral, symbiotic or pathogenic with different impact on plant health and fitness. Both fungi and oomycetes can generate so-called effector proteins in order to successfully colonize the host plant. These proteins modify stress pathways, developmental [...] Read more.
Oomycete and fungal interactions with plants can be neutral, symbiotic or pathogenic with different impact on plant health and fitness. Both fungi and oomycetes can generate so-called effector proteins in order to successfully colonize the host plant. These proteins modify stress pathways, developmental processes and the innate immune system to the microbes’ benefit, with a very different outcome for the plant. Investigating the biological and functional roles of effectors during plant–microbe interactions are accessible through bioinformatics and experimental approaches. The next generation protein modeling software RoseTTafold and AlphaFold2 have made significant progress in defining the 3D-structure of proteins by utilizing novel machine-learning algorithms using amino acid sequences as their only input. As these two methods rely on super computers, Google Colabfold alternatives have received significant attention, making the approaches more accessible to users. Here, we focus on current structural biology, sequence motif and domain knowledge of effector proteins from filamentous microbes and discuss the broader use of novel modelling strategies, namely AlphaFold2 and RoseTTafold, in the field of effector biology. Finally, we compare the original programs and their Colab versions to assess current strengths, ease of access, limitations and future applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Fungi Interaction)
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