title: A Phytophthora sojae cytoplasmic effector mediates disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance in Nicotiana benthamiana.
abstract: Each oomycete pathogen encodes a large number of effectors. Some effectors can be used in crop disease resistance breeding, such as to accelerate R gene cloning and utilisation. Since cytoplasmic effectors may cause acute physiological changes in host cells at very low concentrations, we assume that some of these effectors can serve as functional genes for transgenic plants. Here, we generated transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants that express a Phytophthora sojae CRN (crinkling and necrosis) effector, PsCRN115. We showed that its expression did not significantly affect the growth and development of N. benthamiana, but significantly improved disease resistance and tolerance to salt and drought stresses. Furthermore, we found that expression of heat-shock-protein and cytochrome-P450 encoding genes were unregulated in PsCRN115-transgenic N. benthamiana based on digital gene expression profiling analyses, suggesting the increased plant defence may be achieved by upregulation of these stress-related genes in transgenic plants. Thus, PsCRN115 may be used to improve plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Meixiang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China [2] Department of Plant Pathology, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Nasir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmed Rajput
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Danyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Tingli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Juma Mafurah
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Daolong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dou
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D055864:Droughts; D015870:Gene Expression; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010838:Phytophthora / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide