AUTHOR=Wang Weidong , Nie Jiajun , Lv Luqiong , Gong Wan , Wang Shuaile , Yang Mingming , Xu Liangsheng , Li Mingjun , Du Hongxia , Huang Lili 

TITLE=A Valsa mali Effector Protein 1 Targets Apple (Malus domestica) Pathogenesis-Related 10 Protein to Promote Virulence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.741342

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2021.741342

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>To successfully colonize the plants, the pathogenic microbes secrete a mass of effector proteins which manipulate host immunity. Apple valsa canker is a destructive disease caused by the weakly parasitic fungus <italic>Valsa mali</italic>. A previous study indicated that the <italic>V. mali</italic> effector protein 1 (<italic>VmEP1</italic>) is an essential virulence factor. However, the pathogenic mechanism of <italic>VmEP1</italic> in <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic> remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that the apple (<italic>Malus domestica</italic>) pathogenesis-related 10 proteins (<italic>MdPR10</italic>) are the virulence target of <italic>VmEP1</italic> using a yeast two-hybrid screening. By bimolecular fluorescence (BiFC) and coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP), we confirmed that the <italic>VmEP1</italic> interacts with <italic>MdPR10 in vivo</italic>. Silencing of <italic>MdPR10</italic> notably enhanced the <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic> infection, and overexpression of <italic>MdPR10</italic> markedly reduced its infection, which corroborates its positive role in plant immunity against <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic>. Furthermore, we showed that the co-expression of <italic>VmEP1</italic> with <italic>MdPR10</italic> compromised the <italic>MdPR10</italic>-mediated resistance to <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic>. Taken together, our results revealed a mechanism by which a <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic> effector protein suppresses the host immune responses by interfering with the <italic>MdPR10</italic>-mediated resistance to <italic>V</italic>. <italic>mali</italic> during the infection.</p>