Study of the roles and dynamics of plant processing bodies during bacterial infection

• Applicant: Dr. Manuel Gonzalez Fuente
• Subject Area: Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems ; Plant Genetics and Genomics ; Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology ; Plant Cell and Developmental Biology
• Term: from 2021 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 457286425

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

Compartmentalization of transcripts in membraneless aggregates allows rapid and cost-efficient responses to stimuli. Processing bodies (PBs) are dynamic ribonucleoprotein aggregates formed by phase separation in the cytosol. PBs are involved in translational arrest and mRNA decay and regulate several developmental processes and responses to stresses, including plant-pathogen interactions. Basal plant defence responses trigger a quick disassembly of PBs, possibly deregulating the expression of immunity and susceptibility genes. Here, we show that upon infection with Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (Pst), PB assembly is enhanced in an effector-dependent manner. Moreover, a PB-defective mutant is more tolerant to bacterial infection. Counterintuitively, this mutant is not affected in canonical defence responses such as salicylic acid or reactive oxygen species production, suggesting alternative mechanisms contributing to susceptibility currently being studied through transcriptomic approaches. We identified two Pst effectors that associate with PB components and induce their formation. Interactomic studies allowed us to identify new PB-associated components upon infection. Among these, we found translational regulators, proteasomal subunits and ubiquitin-binding proteins, connecting RNA metabolism with protein homeostasis in the context of a compatible plant-pathogen interaction. Altogether, this work reveals PBs as novel negative regulators of plant immunity directly targeted by bacterial effectors to promote infection.

Publications

• ATG8 keeps Golgi in shape after the heat. Nature Plants, 9(5), 685-686.
  González-Fuente, Manuel & Üstün, Suayib
  
• Different battle, same strategy: DNA viruses also block plant autophagy. Plant Physiology, 192(4), 2591-2592.
  González-Fuente, Manuel
  
• DUFfers can be useful—some even save energy! DUF581-9 negatively regulates the key energy sensor SnRK1. Plant Physiology, 194(3), 1273-1275.
  González-Fuente, Manuel
  
• Interplay between autophagy and proteasome during protein turnover. Trends in Plant Science, 28(6), 698-714.
  Raffeiner, Margot; Zhu, Shanshuo; González-Fuente, Manuel & Üstün, Suayib
  
• Parasitic plants are one step ahead: Cuscuta responds transcriptionally to different hosts. Plant Physiology, 194(2), 609-611.
  González-Fuente, Manuel
  
• The Plant Ubiquitin–Proteasome System as a Target for Microbial Manipulation. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 61(1), 351-375.
  Langin, Gautier; González-Fuente, Manuel & Üstün, Suayib
  
• Welcome to the TRIBE: An approach to identify RNA ligands of RNA-binding proteins in rice. Plant Physiology, 192(2), 683-684.
  González-Fuente, Manuel
  
• What happens in plants stays in plants: Arabidopsis prime Ac/N-recognin candidates do not function as such. Plant Physiology, 193(3), 1724-1726.
  González-Fuente, Manuel
  
• Who does not LYKe fungi? A plant receptor modulates defenses to facilitate the establishment of fungal symbioses. Plant Physiology, 192(2), 707-709.
  González-Fuente, Manuel