Bacterial effectors target the common signaling partner BAK1 to disrupt multiple MAMP receptor-signaling complexes and impede plant immunity

Cell Host Microbe. 2008 Jul 17;4(1):17-27. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2008.05.017.

Abstract

Successful pathogens have evolved strategies to interfere with host immune systems. For example, the ubiquitous plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae injects two sequence-distinct effectors, AvrPto and AvrPtoB, to intercept convergent innate immune responses stimulated by multiple microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). However, the direct host targets and precise molecular mechanisms of bacterial effectors remain largely obscure. We show that AvrPto and AvrPtoB bind the Arabidopsis receptor-like kinase BAK1, a shared signaling partner of both the flagellin receptor FLS2 and the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1. This targeting interferes with ligand-dependent association of FLS2 with BAK1 during infection. It also impedes BAK1-dependent host immune responses to diverse other MAMPs and brassinosteroid signaling. Significantly, the structural basis of AvrPto-BAK1 interaction appears to be distinct from AvrPto-Pto association required for effector-triggered immunity. These findings uncover a unique strategy of bacterial pathogenesis where virulence effectors block signal transmission through a key common component of multiple MAMP-receptor complexes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / immunology*
  • Arabidopsis / microbiology
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Blotting, Western
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Models, Biological
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Interaction Mapping
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Pseudomonas syringae / pathogenicity*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Virulence Factors / genetics
  • Virulence Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Virulence Factors
  • avrPto protein, Pseudomonas syringae
  • Protein Kinases
  • BAK1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • FLS2 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases