Fungal small RNAs suppress plant immunity by hijacking host RNA interference pathways.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 24092744.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.1239705 and PMC identifier 4096153.
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Abstract
Botrytis cinerea, the causative agent of gray mold disease, is an aggressive fungal pathogen that infects more than 200 plant species. Here, we show that some B. cinerea small RNAs (Bc-sRNAs) can silence Arabidopsis and tomato genes involved in immunity. These Bc-sRNAs hijack the host RNA interference (RNAi) machinery by binding to Arabidopsis Argonaute 1 (AGO1) and selectively silencing host immunity genes. The Arabidopsis ago1 mutant exhibits reduced susceptibility to B. cinerea, and the B. cinerea dcl1 dcl2 double mutant that can no longer produce these Bc-sRNAs displays reduced pathogenicity on Arabidopsis and tomato. Thus, this fungal pathogen transfers "virulent" sRNA effectors into host plant cells to suppress host immunity and achieve infection, which demonstrates a naturally occurring cross-kingdom RNAi as an advanced virulence mechanism.
Medical subject headings
- Arabidopsis
- Botrytis
- Host-Pathogen Interactions
- Plant Diseases
- RNA Interference
- RNA, Fungal
- RNA, Small Interfering