Abstract
Cladosporium fulvum is a non-obligate biotrophic fungus of the Dothideomycetes class that causes leaf
mould of tomato. During infection, C. fulvum secretes effectors that function as virulence factors in the
absence of cognate Cf resistance proteins and induce effector-triggered immunity in their presence.
Recently, homologues of the C. fulvum Avr4 and Ecp2 effectors were identified in species of
Dothideomycetes, including Mycosphaerella fijiensis the causal agent of the black Sigatoka disease of
banana. We have demonstrated that the M. fijiensis Avr4 is a functional orthologue of the C. fulvum Avr4
that binds to chitin and triggers a Cf-4-mediated hypersensitive response (HR) in tomato, suggesting that a
common recognition site in the two effectors is recognized by the Cf-4. Using a targeted mutational
approach, we are examining whether the chitin-binding domain present in these two effectors represents
this recognition site. Three homologues of the C. fulvum Ecp2 are found in M. fijiensis, two of which induce
different levels of necrosis or HR in tomato lines that lack or contain a cognate Cf-Ecp2 protein. Therefore,
Ecp2 is suggested to promote virulence by interacting with a putative host target, causing host cell necrosis.
Using a yeast-two-hybrid assay we will try to isolate Ecp2-interactors from tomato to further unravel the
role of this effector in virulence. Finally, we are expanding our searches for Avr4 and Ecp2 homologues in
fungal species outside the class of Dothideomycetes. Preliminary data suggest that Ecp2 is widely
distributed among fungal species but has significantly diverged after speciation of these fungi
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Book of Abstracts 10th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, 29 March – 1 April 2010 |
Pages | 149 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Event | 10th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands - Duration: 29 Mar 2010 → 1 Apr 2010 |
Conference/symposium
Conference/symposium | 10th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands |
---|---|
Period | 29/03/10 → 1/04/10 |