Project Details
Projekt Print View

Verticillium longisporum induced changes in the extracellular compartment in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus

Subject Area Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems
Term from 2004 to 2012
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5471048
 
Final Report Year 2012

Final Report Abstract

Proteomic studies of Arabidopsis thaliana obtained during phase I of this Research Unit revealed that three different peroxidases, a serine-carboxypeptidase, an α-galactosidase and a germin-like protein (GLP3) were more abundant in the apoplast of infected than in that of uninfected plants, whereas a lectin-like protein was decreased under these conditions. The main aim of the present study was to functionally characterize these differentially expressed extracellular proteins in relation to physiological and anatomical alterations induced by VL. Growth experiments of VL in extracellular fluids showed that proteins restricted fungal growth. To investigate which proteins were responsible for the immune response against V. longisporum in A. thaliana, functional analyses were performed. For this purpose, homozygous plants of T-DNA insertion lines were isolated and challenged with V. longisporum. Most of them displayed a pathophenotype similar to that of the wild-type. However, Arabidopsis lines with reduced expression of the germin-like protein 3 (GLP3) showed enhanced susceptibility to VL. amiRNA lines for GLP3 supported these results. Moreover, GLP3-overexpressing plants showed less disease symptoms than the wild-type. This correlated with reduced amounts of fungal DNA within the GLP3-overexpressing plants and increased fungal DNA in T-DNA insertion lines. Growth experiments with GLP3 expressed in yeast showed that the protein was able to attenuate proliferation of V. longisporum in vitro. The results indicate that GLP3 mediates resistance in A. thaliana by restricting the growth of the fungus directly. The molecular mechanisms of GLP3 action is unclear and should be investigated in further experiments. Since some of the differentially expressed candidate proteins in A. thaliana may have functions in cell wall remodelling infected and mock inoculated plants were investigated anatomically. Infection with V. longisporum led to the production of hyperplastic xylem in the hypocotyl as well as in leaf petioles. Moreover, transdifferentiation of mesophyll cells into xylem vessels was observed in leaves. The biological role of these modifications is currently actively investigated in collaboration with other groups of this research unit.

Publications

 
 

Additional Information

Textvergrößerung und Kontrastanpassung