The F-box Containing Bacterial Effector RipG6 Destabilizes a Receptor-Like Cytoplasmic Kinase Involved in Plant Immune Signaling.
Jeon H, Choi J, Song N, Kim W, Segonzac C
Plant Signaling
Bacterial wilt quietly kills tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes in home gardens and farms worldwide — cracking open exactly how the pathogen disables plant immunity is the first step toward breeding vegetables that can finally fight it off.
A soil-dwelling bacterium that causes plants to wilt and die has a clever trick: it injects a special protein into plant cells that uses the plant's own internal 'trash disposal system' to shred a protein the plant needs to sound the immune alarm. Researchers figured out which plant protein gets destroyed and confirmed it plays a real role in helping plants defend themselves. This gives plant breeders a concrete target for developing wilt-resistant tomatoes and other crops.
Key Findings
RipG6 suppresses plant immune responses only when its F-box motif is intact, confirming it works by hijacking the plant's ubiquitin-proteasome protein-degradation machinery.
RipG6 directly interacts with and reduces the stability of a tomato immune kinase (RLCK-VIII-6), effectively dismantling a plant defense signaling component.
Closely related versions of the targeted kinase in wild tobacco and thale cress both function as positive regulators of plant immunity, suggesting this is a broadly conserved defense target across plant species.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered how a soil bacterium that causes devastating wilting disease in tomatoes and peppers disarms plant defenses: it injects a protein called RipG6 that hijacks the plant's own cellular recycling system to destroy a key immune signaling component.
Abstract Preview
Bacterial pathogens employ a large array of type IIIsecreted effectors to manipulate host cell immunity and metabolism. Ralstonia solanacearum species complex, the causal agent of bacterial wilt di...
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