title: A paralog of the proteinaceous elicitor SM1 is involved in colonization of maize roots by Trichoderma virens.
abstract: The biocontrol agent, Trichoderma virens, has the ability to protect plants from pathogens by eliciting plant defense responses, involvement in mycoparasitism, or secreting antagonistic secondary metabolites. SM1, an elicitor of induced systemic resistance (ISR), was found to have three paralogs within the T. virens genome. The paralog sm2 is highly expressed in the presence of plant roots. Gene deletion mutants of sm2 were generated and the mutants were found to overproduce SM1. The ability to elicit ISR in maize against Colletotrichum graminicola was not compromised for the mutants compared to that of wild type isolate. However, the deletion strains had a significantly lowered ability to colonize maize roots. This appears to be the first report on the involvement of an effector-like protein in colonization of roots by Trichoderma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 2765 F and B Road, College Station, TX 77845, USA.
authors.forename: Frankie K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Crutcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Bioprotection Research Centre, Lincoln University, PO Box 84, Lincoln 7647 Canterbury, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Moran-Diez
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 2765 F and B Road, College Station, TX 77845, USA.
authors.forename: Jinggao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Benjamin A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Horwitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
authors.forename: Prasun K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: c-kenerley@tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kenerley
mesh_terms: D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014242:Trichoderma / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins
keywords: Biocontrol; Cerato-platanin; Induced systemic resistance; Root colonization