The Sugarcane Defense Protein SUGARWIN2 Causes Cell Death in Colletotrichum falcatum but Not in Non-Pathogenic Fungi

Autor(es)

Franco, Flavia P. ^[1] ; Santiago, Adelita C. ^[2] ; Henrique-Silva, Flavio ^[2] ; de Castro, Patricia Alves ^[3] ; Goldman, Gustavo H. ^{[4, 3]} ; Moura, Daniel S. ^[5] ; Silva-Filho, Marcio C. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Genet, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Genet & Evolucao, BR-13560 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[4] Lab Nacl Ciencia & Tecnol Bioetanol CTBE, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Dept Ciencias Biol, Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PLoS One; v. 9, n. 3 MAR 7 2014.
• Citações Web of Science: 5

Resumo

Plants respond to pathogens and insect attacks by inducing and accumulating a large set of defense-related proteins. Two homologues of a barley wound-inducible protein (BARWIN) have been characterized in sugarcane, SUGARWIN1 and SUGARWIN2 (sugarcane wound-inducible proteins). Induction of SUGARWINs occurs in response to Diatraea saccharalis damage but not to pathogen infection. In addition, the protein itself does not show any effect on insect development; instead, it has antimicrobial activities toward Fusarium verticillioides, an opportunistic fungus that usually occurs after D. saccharalis borer attacks on sugarcane. In this study, we sought to evaluate the specificity of SUGARWIN2 to better understand its mechanism of action against phytopathogens and the associations between fungi and insects that affect plants. We used Colletotrichum falcatum, a fungus that causes red rot disease in sugarcane fields infested by D. saccharalis, and Ceratocystis paradoxa, which causes pineapple disease in sugarcane. We also tested whether SUGARWIN2 is able to cause cell death in Aspergillus nidulans, a fungus that does not infect sugarcane, and in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is used for bioethanol production. Recombinant SUGARWIN2 altered C. falcatum morphology by increasing vacuolization, points of fractures and a leak of intracellular material, leading to germling apoptosis. In C. paradoxa, SUGARWIN2 showed increased vacuolization in hyphae but did not kill the fungi. Neither the non-pathogenic fungus A. nidulans nor the yeast S. cerevisiae was affected by recombinant SUGARWIN2, suggesting that the protein is specific to sugarcane opportunistic fungal pathogens. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/57908-6 - Instituto Nacional de Biotecnologia para o Bioetanol
• Beneficiário: Marcos Silveira Buckeridge
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOEN - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 08/52067-3 - Herbivoria e o transporte intracelular de proteínas
• Beneficiário: Márcio de Castro Silva Filho
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOEN - Temático