title: Rice false smut fungus hijacks the rice nutrients supply by blocking and mimicking the fertilization of rice ovary.
abstract: Rice false smut disease is an increasing threat to rice production in the world. Despite of best efforts, research for the infection of the fungus has yielded equivocal and conflicting results about where and how the infection is initiated and developed. Here we show a stepwise infection pattern and sophisticated regulation during this process. Initial infection occurred on the filaments, which prevented the production of mature pollen thus blocked the pollination. In the following days, the pathogen invaded the stigmas and styles, occasionally the ovaries. Expression analysis indicated that the fungus mimicked a successful fertilization process and enabled the continuous supply of nutrients for fungus to produce false smut balls. The stepwise infection of flower organs and mimicry of ovary fertilization unveiled in this study guided the rice plant into supplying nutrients for false smut ball development and represents a new and unique biological process of host pathogen interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jie-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.|The Key Lab of Crop Disease Monitoring & Safety Control in Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.|The Key Lab of Crop Disease Monitoring & Safety Control in Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Xiao
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: You-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schnabel
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.|The Key Lab of Crop Disease Monitoring & Safety Control in Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Bin
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.|The Key Lab of Crop Disease Monitoring & Safety Control in Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Dao-Hong
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.|The Key Lab of Crop Disease Monitoring & Safety Control in Hubei Province, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Chao-Xi
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D055993:Germ Cells, Plant / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D054817:Pollination