title: Did Convergent Protein Evolution Enable Phytoplasmas to Generate 'Zombie Plants'?
abstract: Phytoplasmas are pathogenic bacteria that reprogram plant development such that leaf-like structures instead of floral organs develop. Infected plants are sterile and mainly serve to propagate phytoplasmas and thus have been termed 'zombie plants'. The developmental reprogramming relies on specific interactions of the phytoplasma protein SAP54 with a small subset of MADS-domain transcription factors. Here, we propose that SAP54 folds into a structure that is similar to that of the K-domain, a protein-protein interaction domain of MADS-domain proteins. We suggest that undergoing convergent structural and sequence evolution, SAP54 evolved to mimic the K-domain. Given the high specificity of resulting developmental alterations, phytoplasmas might be used to study flower development in genetically intractable plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rümpler
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gramzow
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Theißen
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany; School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Electronic address: rainer.melzer@ucd.ie.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melzer
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D009154:Mutation; D045582:Phytoplasma / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D063245:Plant Development; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D017510:Protein Folding; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins
keywords: K-domain; MADS-domain; Phytoplasma; SAP54; convergent evolution; molecular mimicry; plant–microbe interaction