Solanaceous species recognise a novel PAMP from Rhynchosporium commune
B. FRANCO (1), A. Berepiki (1), P. Birch (2), K. Kanyuka (3), A. Avrova (1) (1) James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom; (2) University of Dundee, United Kingdom; (3) Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom

Rhynchosporium commune causes one of the most destructive diseases of barley, called scald. It leads to significant yield losses, grain quality can also be affected, resulting in substantial losses for barley producers. Currently disease management relies on chemical control and deployment of resistant cultivars, but R. commune populations can change rapidly, overcoming barley resistance and some fungicides.  Plants have evolved innate immunity to neutralize numerous pathogen attacks.  Microbial or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), also known as elicitors, are detected by plant pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) resulting in PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Sequencing of the interaction transcriptome from an early time point during infection of barley leaves with R. commune revealed an abundant transcript coding for a novel small secreted fungal protein, Rc1. It is most highly up-regulated early during infection. Rc1 and its homologues from different fungal species produced using Pichia pastoris, trigger cell death in Solanaceous, but not in monocots. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of known components of PTI in N. benthamiana was used to show that Rc1-triggered cell death is SGT1 and BAK1 dependent. In contrast, CMPG1 was shown not to be part of the response to Rc1. Identification of the plant receptor involved in Rc1 recognition in Solanaceous will provide a valuable resource for engineering non-host resistance in monocots. 

Abstract Number: P7-170
Session Type: Poster