Grain formation is fundamental for crop yield but is vulnerable to abiotic and biotic stresses.Rice grain production is threatened by the false smut fungus Ustilaginoidea virens,which specifically infects rice floral ...Grain formation is fundamental for crop yield but is vulnerable to abiotic and biotic stresses.Rice grain production is threatened by the false smut fungus Ustilaginoidea virens,which specifically infects rice floral organs,disrupting fertilization and seed formation.However,little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the U.virens-rice interaction and the genetic basis of floral resistance.Here,we report that U.virens secretes a cytoplasmic effector,UvCBP1,to facilitate infection of rice flowers.Mechanistically,UvCBP1 interacts with the rice scaffold protein OsRACK1A and competes its interaction with the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase OsRBOHB,leading to inhibition of reactive oxygen species(ROS)production.Although the analysis of natural variation revealed no OsRACK1A variants that could avoid being targeted by UvCBP1,expression levels of OsRACK1A are correlated with field resistance against U.virens in rice germplasm.Overproduction of OsRACK1A restores the OsRACK1A-OsRBOHB association and promotes OsRBOHB phosphorylation to enhance ROS production,conferring rice floral resistance to U.virens without yield penalty.Taken together,our findings reveal a new pathogenic mechanism mediated by an essential effector from a flower-specific pathogen and provide a valuable genetic resource for balancing disease resistance and crop yield.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,China(32072503 to J.F.,U19A2033 to W.-M.W.,and 32121003 to X.C.)Sichuan Youth Science and Technology Innovation Research Team(2022JDTD0023 to J.F.)Sichuan Applied Fundamental Research Foundation(2020JDJQ0040 to J.W.).
文摘Grain formation is fundamental for crop yield but is vulnerable to abiotic and biotic stresses.Rice grain production is threatened by the false smut fungus Ustilaginoidea virens,which specifically infects rice floral organs,disrupting fertilization and seed formation.However,little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the U.virens-rice interaction and the genetic basis of floral resistance.Here,we report that U.virens secretes a cytoplasmic effector,UvCBP1,to facilitate infection of rice flowers.Mechanistically,UvCBP1 interacts with the rice scaffold protein OsRACK1A and competes its interaction with the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase OsRBOHB,leading to inhibition of reactive oxygen species(ROS)production.Although the analysis of natural variation revealed no OsRACK1A variants that could avoid being targeted by UvCBP1,expression levels of OsRACK1A are correlated with field resistance against U.virens in rice germplasm.Overproduction of OsRACK1A restores the OsRACK1A-OsRBOHB association and promotes OsRBOHB phosphorylation to enhance ROS production,conferring rice floral resistance to U.virens without yield penalty.Taken together,our findings reveal a new pathogenic mechanism mediated by an essential effector from a flower-specific pathogen and provide a valuable genetic resource for balancing disease resistance and crop yield.
