SUMOylation in Phytopathogen Interactions: Balancing Invasion and Resistance

Abstract

Plants are constantly confronted by a multitude of biotic stresses involving a myriad of pathogens. In crops, pathogen infections result in significant agronomical losses worldwide posing a threat to food security. In order to enter plant tissues and establish a successful infection, phytopathogens have to surpass several physical, and chemical defense barriers. In recent years, post-translational modification (PTM) mechanisms have emerged as key players in plant defense against pathogens. PTMs allow a highly dynamic and rapid response in front of external challenges, increasing the complexity and precision of cellular responses. In this review, we focus on the role of SUMO conjugation (SUMOylation) in plant immunity against fungi, bacteria, and viruses. In plants, SUMO regulates multiple biological processes, ranging from development to responses arising from environmental challenges. During pathogen attack, SUMO not only modulates the activity of plant defense components, but also serves as a target of pathogen effectors, highlighting its broad role in plant immunity. Here, we summarize known pathogenic strategies targeting plant SUMOylation and, the plant SUMO conjugates involved in host-pathogen interactions. We also provide a catalog of candidate SUMO conjugates according to their role in defense responses. Finally, we discuss the complex role of SUMO in plant defense, focusing on key biological and experimental aspects that contribute to some controversial conclusions, and the opportunities for improving agricultural productivity by engineering SUMOylation in crop species.

Common Post-translational Modifications (PTMs) of Proteins: Analysis by Up-to-Date Analytical Techniques with an Emphasis on Barley

“…By studying the molecules accumulated in barley, a certain level of resistance to Fusarium graminearum was confirmed, leading to the identification of resveratrol, a candidate inhibitor of SUMO proteases. 91 Our brief review concerning the PTMs of barley was mainly focused on the study of individual PTMs. Since studies of the interactions of PTMs in plants have only recently emerged, it will undoubtedly be desirable to focus attention on this area in the future.…”

“…SUMOylation is a key player in plant immunity and, thus, plays a positive role in fungal resistance. By studying the molecules accumulated in barley, a certain level of resistance to Fusarium graminearum was confirmed, leading to the identification of resveratrol, a candidate inhibitor of SUMO proteases …”

“…By studying the molecules accumulated in barley, a certain level of resistance to Fusarium graminearum was confirmed, leading to the identification of resveratrol, a candidate inhibitor of SUMO proteases. 91 …”

(De)Activation (Ir)Reversibly or Degradation: Dynamics of Post-Translational Protein Modifications in Plants

“…In Arabidopsis, SUMO modulates hormone signaling such as ABA [149,150], salicylic acid (SA) [151], and auxin [152]. In addition, SUMO plays a major role in plant responses to abiotic challenges [153] and plant immunity [154]. Efforts to understand the molecular mechanism that mediates the extensive biological role of SUMO have focused on uncovering protein substrates through targeted and non-targeted approaches, and through characterizing the functional diversity of the SUMOylation machinery components.…”

Mind the gap : Analysis of Tsw resistance against tospoviruses

“…Previous studies have shown that the SIZ1 protein may act as a suppressor of pathogen related genes (Lee et al, 2007;Sharma et al, 2021a). SIZ1 was for instance shown to regulate protein levels of the NB-LRR protein SNC1 in A. thaliana, which was furthermore sumoylated in plants (Gou et al, 2017).…”