Functional and physiological characterization of OsSULTR3;6, a new class of susceptibility gene    
P. SINGH (1), L. Wang (1), A. Read (1) (1) Cornell University, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, U.S.A.

Bacterial leaf streak disease caused by X. oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) poses serious rice yield constraints, predominantly in Africa and Asia. Xoc employs a unique arsenal of TAL effectors delivered by the type III secretion system to activate host genes in a sequence specific manner. Disease development is dependent on induction of susceptibility (S) genes. A comprehensive understanding of S genes holds great potential to unravel the molecular mechanisms of disease progression. Among Xoc TAL effectors, Tal2g plays a major role in disease development by inducing the recently identified S gene OsSULTR3;6,. The physiological impact of OsSULTR3;6 induction in leaf mesophyll cells is an important unknown. Generation of sequence specific designer TAL effectors and Q-PCR analysis showed that OsSULTR3;6 acts in a quantitative manner. OsSULTR3;6, one of 14 members of the sulfate transporter gene family in rice belongs to a less well-characterized subgroup, clade III. In order to assess its ability to transport sulfate, the full-length cDNA clone was used for complementation of a yeast sulfate transporter mutant. Further, the subcellular localization of the protein was also assayed. Physiological understanding of the role of this S gene in disease may pave the way for engineered resistance.    

Abstract Number: P9-308
Session Type: Poster