Elucidating tissue and subcellular specificity of the entire SUMO network reveals how stress responses are fine-tuned in a eukaryote.

SUMOylation is essential in plant and animal cells, but it remains unknown how small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) components act in concert to modify specific targets in response to environmental stresses. In this study, we characterize every SUMO component in the root to create a complete SUMO Cell Atlas in eukaryotes. This unique resource reveals wide spatial variation, where SUMO proteins and proteases have subfunctionalized in both their expression and subcellular localization.

Redox-regulated Aux/IAA multimerization modulates auxin responses.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) function as key signals in plant adaptation to environmental stresses, such as drought. Roots respond to transient water unavailability by temporarily ceasing branching through the acclimative response xerobranching. In this study, we report how a xerobranching stimulus triggers rapid changes of ROS levels in root nuclei, triggering redox-dependent multimerization of the auxin repressor protein IAA3.

The host and pathogen myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthases are required for Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA infection in tomato.

The myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) catalyses the biosynthesis of myo-inositol, an important sugar that regulates various physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Here, we provide evidence that host (SlMIPS1) and pathogen (Rs_MIPS) myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) genes are required for successful infection of Rhizoctonia solani, a devastating necrotrophic fungal pathogen, in tomato. Silencing of either SlMIPS1 or Rs_MIPS prevented disease, whereas an exogenous spray of myo-inositol enhanced disease severity.

Charting the evolutionary path of the SUMO modification system in plants reveals molecular hardwiring of development to stress adaptation.

SUMO modification is part of the spectrum of Ubiquitin-like (UBL) systems that give rise to proteoform complexity through post-translational modifications (PTMs). Proteoforms are essential modifiers of cell signaling for plant adaptation to changing environments. Exploration of the evolutionary emergence of Ubiquitin-like (UBL) systems unveils their origin from prokaryotes, where it is linked to the mechanisms that enable sulfur uptake into biomolecules.

Methionine biosynthetic genes and methionine sulfoxide reductase A are required for Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA to cause sheath blight disease in rice.

Rhizoctonia solani is a polyphagous necrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes sheath blight disease in rice. It deploys effector molecules as well as carbohydrate-active enzymes and enhances the production of reactive oxygen species for killing host tissues. Understanding R.

Evolution of pathogenicity-associated genes in Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA by genome duplication and transposon-mediated gene function alterations.

Background: Rhizoctonia solani is a polyphagous fungal pathogen that causes diseases in crops. The fungal strains are classified into anastomosis groups (AGs); however, genomic complexity, diversification into the AGs and the evolution of pathogenicity-associated genes remain poorly understood.

Results: We report a recent whole-genome duplication and sequential segmental duplications in AG1-IA strains of R.

RAV1 family members function as transcriptional regulators and play a positive role in plant disease resistance.

Phytopathogens pose a severe threat to agriculture and strengthening the plant defense response is an important strategy for disease control. Here, we report that AtRAV1, an AP2 and B3 domain-containing transcription factor, is required for basal plant defense in Arabidopsis thaliana. The atrav1 mutant lines demonstrate hyper-susceptibility against fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani and Botrytis cinerea), whereas AtRAV1 overexpressing lines exhibit disease resistance against them.

Immunity proteins of dual nuclease T6SS effectors function as transcriptional repressors.

Bacteria utilize type VI secretion system (T6SS) to deliver antibacterial toxins to target co-habiting bacteria. Here, we report that Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1 deploys certain T6SS effectors (TseTBg), having both DNase and RNase activities to kill target bacteria. RNase activity is prominent on NGJ1 as well as other bacterial RNA while DNase activity is pertinent to only other bacteria.

Enzymatic and non-enzymatic functional attributes of plant microbiome.

Microbiome plays an important role in plant growth and adaptation to various environmental conditions. The cross-talk between host plant and microbes (including microbe-microbe interactions) plays a crucial role in shaping the microbiome. Recent studies have highlighted that plant microbiome is enriched in genes encoding enzymes and natural products.

Fungal effectors, the double edge sword of phytopathogens.

Phyto-pathogenic fungi can cause huge damage to crop production. During millions of years of coexistence, fungi have evolved diverse life-style to obtain nutrients from the host and to colonize upon them. They deploy various proteinaceous as well as non-proteinaceous secreted molecules commonly referred as effectors to sabotage host machinery during the infection process.

, a C2H2-Type Transcription Factor Is Required for Pathogenesis of AG1-IA in Tomato.

is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes disease in diverse plant species. In recent years, the genomic and transcriptomic studies have identified several candidate pathogenicity determinants of ; however, most of them remain to be validated. In this study, we report a viral vector-based host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) as well as a dsRNA (double-stranded RNA)-based approach to effectively downregulate genes of AG1-IA (BRS1 strain) during pathogenesis in tomato.

Concurrent overexpression of rice G-protein β and γ subunits provide enhanced tolerance to sheath blight disease and abiotic stress in rice.

Our study demonstrates that simultaneous overexpression of RGB1 and RGG1 genes provides multiple stress tolerance in rice by inducing stress responsive genes and better management of ROS scavenging/photosynthetic machineries. The heterotrimeric G-proteins act as signalling molecules and modulate various cellular responses including stress tolerance in eukaryotes. The gamma (γ) subunit of rice G-protein (RGG1) was earlier reported to promote salinity stress tolerance in rice.

Host Alternative NADH:Ubiquinone Oxidoreductase Serves as a Susceptibility Factor to Promote Pathogenesis of in Plants.

Phytopathogens have evolved mechanisms to utilize host genes (commonly known as susceptibility factors) to promote their pathogenesis. is a highly destructive fungal pathogen of various plants, including rice. We previously reported rice genes that were differentially regulated during pathogenesis.

Genome analysis provides insight about pathogenesis of Indian strains of Rhizoctonia solani in rice.

The Rhizoctonia solani species complex is comprised of strains belonging to different anastomosis groups and causes diseases in several economically important crops, including rice. However, individuals within same anastomosis group exhibit distinct morphological and pathological differences on the same host. In this study, we have sequenced the genome of two aggressive Indian strains (BRS11 and BRS13) belonging to AG1-IA anastomosis group and compared them with the available genome of R.

Bacteria-fungal Confrontation and Fungal Growth Prevention Assay.

There are some bacteria which can grow and multiply at the cost of living fungal biomass. They can potentially utilize fungi as a source of nutrients to forage over them. Such phenomenon is known as bacterial mycophagy, however, its mechanistic insights need to be explored to identify the molecules involved in mycophagy for potential utilization in controlling various fungal diseases.

Identification of candidate pathogenicity determinants of Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA, which causes sheath blight disease in rice.

Sheath blight disease is one of the predominant diseases of rice and it is caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. The mechanistic insight about its widespread success as a broad host range pathogen is limited. In this study, we endeavor to identify pathogenicity determinants of R.

A prophage tail-like protein is deployed by Burkholderia bacteria to feed on fungi.

Some bacteria can feed on fungi, a phenomenon known as mycophagy. Here we show that a prophage tail-like protein (Bg_9562) is essential for mycophagy in Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1. The purified protein causes hyphal disintegration and inhibits growth of several fungal species.

Alterations in rice chloroplast integrity, photosynthesis and metabolome associated with pathogenesis of Rhizoctonia solani.

Sheath blight disease is caused by a necrotrophic fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani and it continues to be a challenge for sustainable rice cultivation. In this study, we adopted a multi-pronged approach to understand the intricacies of rice undergoing susceptible interactions with R. solani.

Draft Genome Sequence of Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Bacterium Burkholderia gladioli Strain NGJ1, Isolated from Healthy Rice Seeds.

We report here the draft genome sequence of Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1. The strain was isolated from healthy rice seeds and exhibits broad-spectrum antifungal activity against several agriculturally important pathogens, including Rhizoctonia solani, Magnaporthe oryzae, Venturia inaequalis, and Fusarium oxysporum.

Identification and functional analysis of AG1-IA specific genes of Rhizoctonia solani.

Rhizoctonia solani is an important necrotrophic fungal pathogen which causes disease on diverse plant species. It has been classified into 14 genetically distinct anastomosis groups (AGs), however, very little is known about their genomic diversity. AG1-IA causes sheath blight disease in rice and controlling this disease remains a challenge for sustainable rice cultivation.