Abstract
Necrotrophic fungi are unable to occupy living plant cells. How such pathogens survive first contact with living host tissue and initiate infection is therefore unclear. Here, we show that the necrotrophic grey mold fungus Botrytis cinerea undergoes massive apoptotic-like programmed cell death (PCD) following germination on the host plant. Manipulation of an anti-apoptotic gene BcBIR1 modified fungal response to PCD-inducing conditions. As a consequence, strains with reduced sensitivity to PCD were hyper virulent, while strains in which PCD was over-stimulated showed reduced pathogenicity. Similarly, reduced levels of PCD in the fungus were recorded following infection of Arabidopsis mutants that show enhanced susceptibility to B. cinerea. When considered together, these results suggest that Botrytis PCD machinery is targeted by plant defense molecules, and that the fungal anti-apoptotic machinery is essential for overcoming this host-induced PCD and hence, for establishment of infection. As such, fungal PCD machinery represents a novel target for fungicides and antifungal drugs.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Botrytis cinerea underwent extensive apoptotic-like cell death after germination on the host plant.
- Taxon
- host plante0
- Interactor
- Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinereae0pathogen - Outcome
- Botrytis cinerea undergoes massive apoptotic-like programmed cell death (PCD) following germination on the host plante0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Botrytis cinerea undergoes massive apoptotic-like programmed cell death (PCD) following germination on the host plant”
Claim · model-written summary
Manipulating BcBIR1 modified the fungal response to cell death inducing conditions.
- Treatment
- Manipulation of an anti-apoptotic gene BcBIR1e0
- Gene
- BcBIR1e0
- Outcome
- Manipulation of an anti-apoptotic gene BcBIR1 modified fungal response to PCD-inducing conditionse0
Not reportedTaxonComparatorDirection
Verbatim
e0“Manipulation of an anti-apoptotic gene BcBIR1 modified fungal response to PCD-inducing conditions”
Claim · model-written summary
Strains with reduced sensitivity to cell death were hypervirulent.
- Material
- strainse0
- Interactor
- strainse0pathogen
- Outcome
- strains with reduced sensitivity to PCD were hyper virulente0
Not reportedTaxonDirection
Verbatim
e0“strains with reduced sensitivity to PCD were hyper virulent”
Claim · model-written summary
Strains with overstimulated cell death had reduced pathogenicity.
- Treatment
- PCD was over-stimulatede0
- Interactor
- strainse0pathogen
- Outcome
- strains in which PCD was over-stimulated showed reduced pathogenicitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“strains in which PCD was over-stimulated showed reduced pathogenicity”
Claim · model-written summary
Fungal cell death was reduced after infection of susceptible Arabidopsis mutants.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis
Arabidopsise0 - Material
- mutantse0
- Interactor
- B. cinereaBotrytis cinereae0pathogen
- Outcome
- reduced levels of PCD in the fungus were recorded following infection of Arabidopsis mutants that show enhanced susceptibility to B. cinereae0
- Direction
- reducede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“reduced levels of PCD in the fungus were recorded following infection of Arabidopsis mutants that show enhanced susceptibility to B. cinerea”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors inferred that plant defense molecules target Botrytis cell death machinery.
- Outcome
- Botrytis PCD machinery is targeted by plant defense moleculese0
- Qualifier
- plant defense moleculese0
Not reportedTaxon
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Botrytis PCD machinery is targeted by plant defense molecules”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors inferred that fungal antiapoptotic machinery enables infection establishment.
- Outcome
- the fungal anti-apoptotic machinery is essential for overcoming this host-induced PCD and hence, for establishment of infectione0
- Qualifier
- fungal anti-apoptotic machinerye0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“the fungal anti-apoptotic machinery is essential for overcoming this host-induced PCD and hence, for establishment of infection”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors proposed fungal cell death machinery as a fungicide target.
- Outcome
- fungal PCD machinery represents a novel target for fungicides and antifungal drugse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“fungal PCD machinery represents a novel target for fungicides and antifungal drugs”