Sugar transporter TaSTP3 activation by TaWRKY19/61/82 enhances stripe rust susceptibility in wheat

Abstract

Sugar efflux from host plants is essential for pathogen survival and proliferation. Sugar transporter-mediated redistribution of host sugar contributes to the outcomes of plantpathogen interactions. However, few studies have focused on how sugar translocation is strategically manipulated during host colonization.To elucidate this question, the wheat sugar transport protein (STP) TaSTP3 responding to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) infection was characterized for sugar transport properties in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its potential role during Pst infection by RNA interference and overexpression in wheat. In addition, the transcription factors regulating TaSTP3 expression were further determined.The results showed that TaSTP3 is localized to the plasma membrane and functions as a sugar transporter of hexose and sucrose. TaSTP3 confers enhanced wheat susceptibility to Pst, and overexpression of TaSTP3 resulted in increased sucrose accumulation and transcriptional suppression of defense-related genes. Furthermore, TaWRKY19, TaWRKY61 and TaWRKY82 were identified as positive transcriptional regulators of TaSTP3 expression.Our findings reveal that the Pst-induced sugar transporter TaSTP3 is transcriptionally activated by TaWRKY19/61/82 and facilitates wheat susceptibility to stripe rust possibly through elevated sucrose concentration, and suggest TaSTP3 as a strong target for engineering wheat resistance to stripe rust.

Integrative systems biology of wheat susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum uncovers a conserved gene regulatory network and identifies master regulators targeted by fungal core effectors

“…Furthermore, TFs were also largely represented among the putative S genes involved in defense suppression with 64 TFs genes (96% of the effector targeted TF genes with a match in the S genes database) induced along infection progress, belonging to the WRKY (38 genes), NAC (4 genes), MYB (20 genes), and EIL (2 genes) families. For instance, they included the three TaWRKY61 homoeologues validated in the wheat– Puccinia striiformis interaction that are positive regulators of the TaSTP3 sugar transporter, found among our targets, and whose induction in response to infection results in cytoplasmic sugar accumulation and suppression of defense-related genes [ 78 ]. By interacting with TF genes, F. graminearum appears to repress pivotal components of cell immunity, and in this respect, it could be able to manipulate at a systemic scale a wide array of defense-related processes (Fig.…”

The link between changing in host carbon allocation and resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae : a possible tactic for mitigating the rice blast fungus

“… 93 , 95 , 96 Furthermore, carbon pathways can be modulated through the use of transgenic techniques. 9 , 29 , 53 , 58 , 97 This involves looking into genetic engineering ways to add or improve genes linked to effective carbon allocation under conditions of illness stress. To increase resistance, transgenic rice lines should be created with altered expression levels of important enzymes like ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco).…”

“…Plant immunity-related proteins are produced by genes whose expression is triggered by signaling pathways that are in turn regulated by the allocation of carbon resources. 9 , 25 , 33 , 57 , 58 Research has also looked into how the availability of carbon affects how plant-microbe interactions are modulated. 59 The amount of carbon allocated to the rhizosphere affects the root microbiome’s composition and may encourage the growth of advantageous microorganisms that strengthen disease resistance.…”

The functional analysis of sugar transporter proteins in sugar accumulation and pollen tube growth in pummelo (Citrus grandis)

“…These sugars are the key components of carbon and energy metabolism in plants, providing the skeleton for large molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids ( Smeekens and Hellmann, 2014 ). Besides, sugars can be used as signal transduction molecules regulating various metabolic pathways, biotic and abiotic stress responses, plant growth and development, and regulating the osmotic pressure of plant cells and solutions, thus affecting stomatal opening and closing and other activities ( Rolland et al., 2002 ; Koch, 2004 ; Rolland et al., 2006 ; Radchuk et al., 2010 ; Smeekens and Hellmann, 2014 ; Huai et al., 2022 ). In plants, sugars need to pass through membrane several times on its way from the source cells to the sink organs.…”

“…Heterologous expression of the apple hexose transporter gene MdHT2.2 in tomato promotes sucrose, fructose, and glucose accumulation ( Wang et al., 2020b ) in response to tomato salt tolerance mechanism by balancing cytoplasmic to intercellular ion concentrations and scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) ( Wang et al., 2020a ). In wheat, TaSTP3 is transcriptionally activated by the transcription factor TaWRKY19/61/82 during stripe rust, thereby increasing the sucrose concentration of host cells to guarantee carbon source supply for the fungus ( Huai et al., 2022 ). In apple, MdSTP13a is found to absorb hexose and sucrose simultaneously in the process of sorbitol regulating pollen tube growth to promote the growth of apple pollen tubes ( Li et al., 2020 ).…”