A Sugarcane Smut Fungus Effector Hijacks Plant Vacuolar Sorting Receptor-Mediated Trafficking to Evade Host Immune Detection.

ABSTRACT: The smut fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is a major pathogen in sugarcane, causing significant agricultural losses worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms by which its effectors facilitate infection and evade host immunity remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified the sugarcane vacuolar sorting receptor 1 gene (ScVSR1), whose expression negatively correlate with several putative S. scitamineum effector genes in a co-expression network. Overexpression of ScVSR1 in Arabidopsis thaliana reduced resistance to a fungal powdery mildew pathogen, indicating the negative role of ScVSR1 in plant defence. Among the co-expressed S. scitamineum effectors, SsPE15, a secreted cerato-platanin-like protein (CPP), physically interacts with ScVSR1 and is sorted into the prevacuolar compartment

SUBMITTER: Ling H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12131962 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature