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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #328041
Title: The hijacking of a receptor kinase-driven pathway by a wheat fungal pathogen leads to disease

Author
item SHI, GONGJUN - North Dakota State University
item Zhang, Zengcui
item Friesen, Timothy
item RAATS, DINA - University Of Haifa
item FAHIMA, TZION - University Of Haifa
item BRUEGGEMAN, ROBERT - North Dakota State University
item Lu, Shunwen
item TRICK, HAROLD - Kansas State University
item LIU, ZHAOHUI - North Dakota State University
item Chao, Wun
item FRENKEL, ZEEV - University Of Haifa
item Xu, Steven
item RASMUSSEN, JACK - North Dakota State University
item Faris, Justin

Submitted to: Science Advances
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2016
Publication Date: 10/26/2016
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/63280
Citation: Shi, G., Zhang, Z., Friesen, T.L., Raats, D., Fahima, T., Brueggeman, R.S., Lu, S., Trick, H.N., Liu, Z., Chao, W., Frenkel, Z., Xu, S.S., Rasmussen, J.B., Faris, J.D. 2016. The hijacking of a receptor kinase-driven pathway by a wheat fungal pathogen leads to disease. Science Advances. 2:e1600822.

Interpretive Summary: Necrotrophic pathogens live and feed on dying plant tissue, but their interactions with plants are not well understood compared to biotrophic pathogens, which live and feed on living plant tissue. Here, we report the positional cloning of the wheat gene, Snn1, and found that it has features characteristic of genes known to govern biotrophic pathogen resistance. Snn1 confers susceptibility to strains of the necrotrophic pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum that produce the SnTox1 protein. Recognition of SnTox1 by Snn1 activates programmed cell death, which allows this necrotroph to gain nutrients and sporulate. These results demonstrate that necrotrophic pathogens such as P. nodorum hijack host molecular pathways that are involved in resistance to biotrophic pathogens, revealing the complex nature of susceptibility and resistance in necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogen interactions with plants.

Technical Abstract: Necrotrophic pathogens live and feed on dying tissue, but their interactions with plants are not well understood compared to biotrophic and hemibiotrophic pathogens. Here, we report the positional cloning of the wheat gene, Snn1, a member of the wall-associated kinase class of receptors, which are known to drive pathways for biotrophic pathogen resistance. Snn1 confers susceptibility to strains of the necrotrophic pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum that produce the SnTox1 protein. Recognition of SnTox1 by Snn1 activates programmed cell death, which allows this necrotroph to gain nutrients and sporulate. These results demonstrate that necrotrophic pathogens such as P. nodorum hijack host molecular pathways that are involved in resistance to biotrophic pathogens, revealing the complex nature of susceptibility and resistance in necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogen interactions with plants.