Biology subjects

Kracher, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Kracher, B..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

An EDS1 EP-domain surface mediating timely transcriptional reprogramming of immunity genes

Plant intracellular NLR receptors recognize pathogen interference to trigger immunity. NLR signalling mechanisms have not been resolved. Enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) heterodimers are recruited by Toll-interleukin1-receptor domain NLRs (TNLs) to transcriptionally mobilize resistance pathways. Using an Arabidopsis EDS1 heterodimer crystal structure we interrogate the conserved but functionally uncharacterized EDS1 -helical EP-domain. We identify EP-domain positively charged residues lining a cavity that are essential for TNL immunity signalling, beyond heterodimer formation. Mutating arginine (R493) to alanine creates a weak EDS1 allele which disables TNL immunity against bacteria producing a virulence factor, coronatine (COR). Arabidopsis plants expressing EDS1R493A are slow to mobilize defence gene expression changes, independently of COR. The transcriptional delay has severe consequences for pathogen resistance and for countering bacterial COR. We uncover a set of host immunity genes whose repression by COR is blocked by wild-type EDS1 but not by EDS1R493A in the TNL response. These data uncover an EDS1 signalling surface lining the heterodimer EP-domain cavity which confers timely transcriptional reprogramming of host defence pathways and blocks bacterial virulence in NLR receptor immunity.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Subfamily-specific functionalization of diversified immune receptors in wild barley

Gene-for-gene immunity between plants and host-adapted pathogens is often linked to population-level diversification of immune receptors encoded by disease resistance (R) genes. The complex barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) R gene locus Mildew Locus A (Mla) provides isolate-specific resistance against the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh) and has been introgressed into modern barley cultivars from diverse germplasms, including the wild relative H. spontaneum. Known Mla disease resistance specificities to Bgh appear to encode allelic variants of the R Gene Homolog 1 (RGH1) family of nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. To gain insights into Mla diversity in wild barley populations, we here sequenced and assembled the transcriptomes of 50 accessions of H. spontaneum representing nine populations distributed throughout the Fertile Crescent. The assembled Mla transcripts exhibited rich sequence diversity, which is linked neither to geographic origin nor population structure. Mla transcripts in the tested H. spontaneum accessions could be grouped into two similar-sized subfamilies based on two major N-terminal coiled-coil signaling domains that are both capable of eliciting cell death. The presence of positively selected sites, located mainly in the C-terminal leucine-rich repeats of both MLA subfamilies, together with the fact that both coiled-coil signaling domains mediate cell death, implies that the two subfamilies are actively maintained in the host population. Unexpectedly, known MLA receptor variants that confer Bgh resistance belong exclusively to one subfamily. Thus, signaling domain divergence, potentially to distinct pathogen populations, is an evolutionary signature of functional diversification of an immune receptor.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Signatures of host specialization and a recent transposable element burst in the dynamic one-speed genome of the fungal barley powdery mildew pathogen

Powdery mildews are biotrophic pathogenic fungi infecting a number of economically important plants. The grass powdery mildew, Blumeria graminis, has become a model organism to study host specialization of obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens. We resolved the large-scale genomic architecture of B. graminis forma specialis hordei (Bgh) to explore the potential influence of its genome organization on the co-evolutionary process with its host plant, barley (Hordeum vulgare). The near-chromosome level assemblies of the Bgh reference isolate DH14 and one of the most diversified isolates, RACE1, enabled a comparative analysis of these haploid genomes, which are highly enriched with transposable elements (TEs). We found largely retained genome synteny and gene repertoires, yet detected copy number variation (CNV) of secretion signal peptide-containing protein-coding genes (SPs) and locally disrupted synteny blocks. Genes coding for sequence-related SPs are often locally clustered, but neither the SP clusters nor TEs are enriched in specific genomic regions. Extended comparative analysis with different host-specific B. graminis formae speciales revealed the existence of a core suite of SPs, but also isolate-specific SP sets as well as congruence of SP CNV and phylogenetic relationship. We further detected evidence for a recent, lineage-specific expansion of TEs in the Bgh genome. The characteristics of the Bgh genome (largely retained synteny, CNV of SP genes, recently proliferated TEs and a lack of compartmentalization) are consistent with a \"one-speed\" genome that differs in its architecture and (co-)evolutionary pattern from the \"two-speed\" genomes reported for several other filamentous phytopathogens.

genomics↗