Phytopathology (2020) 110, 648-655

Julien G. Levy, Rachel Gross, Azucena Mendoza-Herrera, Xiaotian Tang, Kevin Babilonia, Libo Shan, Joseph C. Kuhl, Margaret S. Dibble, Fangming Xiao and Cecilia Tamborindeguy (2020)
Lso-HPE1, an effector of ' Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum', can repress plant immune response
Phytopathology 110 (3), 648-655
Abstract: ' Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' is a plant pathogen affecting the families Solanaceae and Apiaceae in different parts of the world. ' Ca. L. solanacearum' is a Gram-negative, fastidious α-proteobacterium that is vectored by different psyllid species. Plant-pathogenic bacteria are known for interfering with the host physiology or defense mechanisms, often by secreting bacterial effectors. Effector proteins are critical for virulence; therefore, the identification of effectors could help with disease management. In this study, we characterized the Sec-translocon-dependent ' Ca. L. solanacearum'–hypothetical protein effector 1 (Lso-HPE1). We compared this protein sequence in the different ' Ca. L. solanacearum' haplotypes. We predicted the signal peptide and validated its function using Escherichia coli 's alkaline phosphatase fusion assay. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated that Lso-HPE1 from ' Ca. L. solanacearum' haplotypes A and B were able to inhibit the induction of cell death in plants. We also compared gene expression of the Lso-HPE1- transcripts in ' Ca. L. solanacearum' haplotypes A and B in tomato and in the vector Bactericera cockerelli. This work validates the identification of a Sec-translocon-dependent ' Ca. L. solanacearum' protein possibly involved in suppression of plant cell death.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Julien Levy

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Liberibacter solanacearum