The hijacking of a receptor kinase-driven pathway by a wheat fungal pathogen leads to disease.
Necrotrophic pathogens live and feed on dying tissue, but their interactions with plants are not well understood compared to biotrophic pathogens. The wheatSnn1gene confers susceptibility to strains of the necrotrophic pathogenParastagonospora nodorumthat produce the SnTox1 protein. We report the positional cloning ofSnn1, a member of the wall-associated kinase class of receptors, which are known to drive pathways for biotrophic pathogen resistance. Recognition of SnTox1 bySnn1activates programmed cell death, which allows this necrotroph to gain nutrients and sporulate. These results demonstrate that necrotrophic pathogens such asP. nodorumhijack host molecular pathways that are typically involved in resistance to biotrophic pathogens, revealing the complex nature of susceptibility and resistance in necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogen interactions with plants.
Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Gongjun
G
Shi
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Zengcui
Z
Zhang
Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.; U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Timothy L
0000-0001-5634-2200
TL
Friesen
Institute of Evolution and Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
Dina
0000-0002-1046-3346
D
Raats
Institute of Evolution and Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
Tzion
T
Fahima
Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Robert S
RS
Brueggeman
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Shunwen
S
Lu
Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
Harold N
0000-0001-5255-5575
HN
Trick
Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Zhaohui
0000-0002-8106-9186
Z
Liu
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Sunflower and Plant Biology Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Wun
W
Chao
Institute of Evolution and Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
Zeev
0000-0003-0211-6966
Z
Frenkel
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Steven S
0000-0001-7000-2034
SS
Xu
Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Jack B
JB
Rasmussen
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND 58102, USA.
Justin D
JD
Faris
D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054768:G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014908:Triticum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000382:microbiology
D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D054768:G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinases
Wheat; fungal disease; necrotrophic pathogens; pathogens; plants; receptor kinase