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. 2021 Apr;23(4):2293-2314.
doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15416. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

The infection cushion of Botrytis cinerea: a fungal 'weapon' of plant-biomass destruction

Mathias Choquer #  1   2 , Christine Rascle  1   2 , Isabelle R Gonçalves  1   2 , Amélie de Vallée  1   2 , Cécile Ribot  1 , Elise Loisel  1   2 , Pavlé Smilevski  1   2 , Jordan Ferria  1   2 , Mahamadi Savadogo  1   2 , Eytham Souibgui  1   2 , Marie-Josèphe Gagey  1   2 , Jean-William Dupuy  3 , Jeffrey A Rollins  4 , Riccardo Marcato  2   5 , Camille Noûs  1 , Christophe Bruel #  1   2 , Nathalie Poussereau #  1   2
Affiliations

The infection cushion of Botrytis cinerea: a fungal 'weapon' of plant-biomass destruction

Mathias Choquer et al. Environ Microbiol. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

The necrotrophic plant-pathogen fungus Botrytis cinerea produces multicellular appressoria dedicated to plant penetration, named infection cushions (IC). A microarray analysis was performed to identify genes upregulated in mature IC. The expression data were validated by RT-qPCR analysis performed in vitro and in planta, proteomic analysis of the IC secretome and biochemical assays. 1231 upregulated genes and 79 up-accumulated proteins were identified. The data support the secretion of effectors by IC: phytotoxins, ROS, proteases, cutinases, plant cell wall-degrading enzymes and plant cell death-inducing proteins. Parallel upregulation of sugar transport and sugar catabolism-encoding genes would indicate a role of IC in nutrition. The data also reveal a substantial remodelling of the IC cell wall and suggest a role for melanin and chitosan in IC function. Lastly, mutagenesis of two upregulated genes in IC identified secreted fasciclin-like proteins as actors in the pathogenesis of B. cinerea. These results support the role of IC in plant penetration and also introduce other unexpected functions for this fungal organ, in colonization, necrotrophy and nutrition of the pathogen.

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References

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