TALE-induced cell death executors: an origin outside immunity?

Moritz K Nowack, Danalyn R Holmes, Thomas Lahaye

Journal: Trends in plant science 2022;27(6):536-548

PMID: 34924289

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Abstract

Phytopathogenic bacteria inject effector proteins into plant host cells to promote disease. Plant resistance (R) genes encoding nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins mediate the recognition of functionally and structurally diverse microbial effectors, including transcription-activator like effectors (TALEs) from the bacterial genus Xanthomonas. TALEs bind to plant promoters and transcriptionally activate either disease-promoting host susceptibility (S) genes or cell death-inducing executor-type R genes. It is perplexing that plants contain TALE-perceiving executor-type R genes in addition to NLRs that also mediate the recognition of TALE-containing xanthomonads. We present recent findings on the evolvability of TALEs, which suggest that the native function of executors is not in plant immunity, but possibly in the regulation of developmentally controlled programmed cell death (PCD) processes.

Address: Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center of Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; University of Tübingen, ZMBP - General Genetics, Auf der Morgenstelle 32, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.; University of Tübingen, ZMBP - General Genetics, Auf der Morgenstelle 32, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2021.11.003

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MeSH Terms: Bacterial Proteins, Cell Death, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Plant Diseases, Plants, Transcription Activator-Like Effectors, Xanthomonas