A conserved fungal Egh16-like effector suppresses host defense by disrupting ATP binding of wheat MPK3 - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #fungal effector
- #plant immunity suppression
- #ATP binding disruption
- A fungal effector called Cee1, containing an Egh16-like domain, is conserved in Fusarium graminearum and plays a stage-specific role in infectious growth within wheat rachis.
- Cee1 translocates into plant cells and interacts with the ATP-binding domain of wheat kinase TaMPK3, disrupting its ATP binding and impairing kinase activity.
- This disruption reduces phosphorylation of downstream target TaWRKY33, leading to the inactivation of plant defense responses, such as resistance against Fusarium head blight.
- F. graminearum has three paralogs of Cee1, each with two motifs that interact with ATP-binding pockets; all are essential for pathogenicity, and their deletion severely reduces fungal virulence.
- CEE genes are identified as silencing targets to enhance wheat resistance, illustrating a common mechanism where Egh16-like effectors target ATP-binding domains in plant kinases to suppress immunity.