Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici effectors in wheat immune responses

Abstract

The obligate biotrophic fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, which causes yellow (stripe) rust disease, is among the leading biological agents resulting in tremendous yield losses on global wheat productions per annum. The combatting strategies include, but are not limited to, fungicide applications and the development of resistant cultivars. However, evolutionary pressure drives rapid changes, especially in its “effectorome” repertoire, thus allowing pathogens to evade and breach resistance. The extracellular and intracellular effectors, predominantly secreted proteins, are tactical arsenals aiming for many defense processes of plants. Hence, the identity of the effectors and the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between the effectors and the plant immune system have long been targeted in research. The obligate biotrophic nature of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici and the challenging nature of its host, the wheat, impede research on this topic. Next-generation sequencing and novel prediction algorithms in bioinformatics, which are accompanied by in vitro and in vivo validation approaches, offer a speedy pace for the discovery of new effectors and investigations of their biological functions. Here, we briefly review recent findings exploring the roles of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici effectors together with their cellular/subcellular localizations, host responses, and interactors. The current status and the challenges will be discussed. We hope that the overall work will provide a broader view of where we stand and a reference point to compare and evaluate new findings.

Plant–Fungi Interactions: Where It Goes?

“…Plants are always prone to interact with various microbes in different ways which include phytopathogenic and symbiotic associations. In phytopathogenic associations fungi interact with different lifestyles, namely necrotrophic (e.g., Alternaria alternata, A. solani, A. brassicae, Aspergillus flavus, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Botrytis cinerea, Claviceps gigantean, Colletotrichum beeveri, C. gloeosporioides, C. graminicola, C. musae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Stenocarpella maydis, Zymoseptoria tritici) [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]; biotrophic (e.g., Blumeria graminis, Cladosporium fulvum, Hemileia vastatrix, Melampsora lini, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Puccinia arachidis, Puccinia graminis, Puccinia kuehnii, Puccinia striiformis, Sporisorium scitamineum, Ustilago maydis) [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]; and hemibiotrophic (e.g., Colletotrichum higginsianum, C. trifolii, Fusarium equiseti, F. oxysporum, F. sacchari, Ganoderma boninense, Magnaporthe oryzae, Phomopsis longicolla) [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. A plethora of fungi also live as symbiotic, e.g., Funneliformis mosseae, Glomus albidum, G. etunicatum, G. mosseae, G. fasciculatum, Glomus albidum, G. etunicatum, G. mosseae, G. fasciculatum, Glomus mosseae, Trichoderma virens [37][38][39][40][41]…”

Transcriptome-Wide N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) Methylation Analyses in a Compatible Wheat–Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici Interaction

“…Regarding the omics studies on the interaction between Pst and wheat, with the development of sequencing technologies, improved genome assembly and annotation for wheat [41] and Pst (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/genome/?taxon=27350 (accessed on 15 February 2024)) have led to the accumulation of data. Our research previously reviewed some of the transcriptome, microarray, and proteome omics analyses of wheat and Pst, analyzing potential Pst effector candidates [42,43]. Recently, the study of the pan-genome of Pst has laid the foundation for the population genetics and comparative genomics research of the Pst population [44].…”

The addition of Psathyrostachys Huashanica Keng 6Ns large segment chromosomes has positive impact on stripe rust resistance and plant spikelet number of common wheat

“…Its pathogenic spores can be transmitted over long distance via high-altitude airflow, which mainly harm the wheat leaves and sheaths by destroying the synthesis of chlorophyll. This destruction causes the decrease of photosynthetic capacity, and hinders the grain filling, leading to the probabilistic estimated damage of 5.47 million tons of grain each year [ 2 , 3 ]. Moreover, the rapid evolution and spread of new pathogenic stripe rust races often make the newly made wheat varieties lose their expected resistance [ 4 , 5 ].…”