Stripe rust fungus subverts wheat phase separation–mediated immunity to promote infection
Abstract
Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) has emerged as an important strategy for plant stress resistance, yet its dynamic regulation during plant–pathogen interaction remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the stripe rust fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici ( Pst ) deploys effector Hasp170 (one haustorial secreted protein) to subvert wheat immunity by directly disrupting host LLPS. Hasp170 targets the intrinsically disordered region (IDR1) of the wheat nuclear protein TaPSTE (phase separation protein targeted by effector), which forms LLPS-dependent biomolecular condensates. Within these condensates, TaPSTE recruits the transcription factor TaNF-YC, thereby activating the expression of genes driving reactive oxygen species burst and Ca 2+ influx, key components for disease resistance. By binding TaPSTE’s IDR1, Hasp170 impairs condensate formation and prevents TaNF-YC recruitment, consequently suppressing host immunity and facilitating fungal parasitism. This reveals a virulence strategy where pathogens directly manipulate host biomolecular condensates to evade immune responses.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (14)
Tong Yan
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Jinren Zhao
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Can Chen
Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Xi’an Key Laboratory of Functional Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science
Junda Hu
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Jiyuan Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Jialiu Wang
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Somying Wansee
College of International Education, Northwest A&F University
Ning Wang
Cong Jiang
Xiaofeng Fang
Zhensheng Kang
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Lijun Yang
Ballard Power Systems Inc.
Chunlei Tang
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University
Xiaojie Wang
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University