A co-proteomic view of metabolite-specific interactions in the Botrytis cinerea-Arabidopsis pathosystem
Muhich, A. J.; Caseys, C.; Grabbe, B.; Montes-Serey, C.; Walley, J.; Kliebenstein, D. J.
Plant Defense
Gray mold quietly destroys strawberries, tomatoes, and roses in home gardens every season — and now we know one reason it's so hard to stop: it carries a molecular toolkit that dismantles a plant's own chemical defenses on the fly.
Plants like those in the mustard family arm themselves with toxic chemicals that act like internal pesticides against fungal invaders. Scientists found that gray mold — the fuzzy growth that ruins berries and flowers — actually produces a special protein that breaks down these plant chemicals, essentially picking the lock on the plant's defense system. This enzyme only switches on when the fungus detects it's growing on the right kind of plant, meaning the fungus tailors its attack to whoever it's infecting.
Key Findings
A novel enzyme in Botrytis cinerea called BcSaxA was identified that breaks down isothiocyanates — the toxic defense chemicals produced by mustard-family plants including Arabidopsis.
BcSaxA gene expression is activated only when the fungus infects dicot hosts that actually produce isothiocyanates, showing targeted, host-specific adaptation within 32–48 hours of infection.
Disrupting the glucosinolate defense pathway in Arabidopsis caused broad, sweeping changes across the entire plant proteome, underscoring how central these chemicals are to overall plant health and defense coordination.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers discovered that the common plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea (gray mold) produces a specific enzyme to neutralize the chemical defenses of plants like Arabidopsis, revealing how this generalist fungus adapts its infection strategy depending on which host it attacks.
Abstract Preview
To successfully infect their myriad hosts, generalist plant pathogens must tolerate a vast arsenal of plant specialized defense metabolites. To understand how host-specific metabolites influence pl...
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