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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416587
Research Project: Plant-associated Nematode Management and Systematics and USDA Nematode Collection Curation

Location: Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory

Title: The SUbventral-Gland master Regulator (SUGR) of nematode virulence

Author
item PELLEGRIN, CLEMENT - University Of Cambridge
item DAMM, ANIKA - University Of Cambridge
item SPERLING, ALEXIS - University Of Cambridge
item MOLLOY, BETH - University Of Cambridge
item LONG, JONATHAN - University Of Cambridge
item BRETT, PAUL - University Of Cambridge
item DIAZ, ANDREA - University Of Cambridge
item LYNCH, SARAH - University Of Cambridge
item Reis Vieira, Paulo
item EVES-VAN DEN AKKER, SEBASTIAN - University Of Cambridge
item SENATORI, BEATRICE - University Of Cambridge
item MEIJAS, JOFFREY - Iowa State University
item KUMAR, ANIL - Iowa State University
item MAIER, TOM - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Cell
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The beet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii) is both an economically important pathogen and the model cyst nematode. Its close sister species, the soybean cyst nematode H. glycines, is the most economically important cyst nematode globally and the most damaging pathogen of any kind to United States soybean production. In this study, we discover a gene in the beet cyst nematode that functions as a master regulator of nematode virulence genes. We showed that by disrupting signaling by this gene, nematode parasitism can be blocked. This is a promising new method to control cyst nematodes. Because it blocks all associated genes and is hidden from the plant's immune system, this may lead to more durable nematode control. These results will be useful to plant pathologists, plant breeders and those seeking to control nematode diseases in economically important crops.

Technical Abstract: Cyst nematodes are one of the most economic important plant-pathogens worldwide. Similar to other plant-pathogens, cyst nematodes secrete effector proteins that play pivotal roles during host invasion, immune suppression, as well as modulation of host physiology and development. Herein, we show that effector gene expression in the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii responds to small molecule signals termed Effectostimulins, found inside plant roots. In contact with the nematode, Effectostimulins activate the transcription factor SUGR1: a master regulator of effectors, including several known virulence determinants. SUGR1 is able to directly bind effector promoters and activates effector gene expression. We propose a model where, in a positive feedback loop, increased effector production facilitates host invasion, releasing yet more Effectostimulins. Finally, we demonstrate that blocking this signalling cascade blocks parasitism, and translate these findings to the SUGR1 orthologue in the soybean cyst nematode Heterodera glycines. We propose that this signaling cascade can be targeted on multiple levels (from blocking the host cues to blocking the regulator itself) and opens the door to analogous, novel control mechanisms in many pathosystems.