Secreted pectin monooxygenases drive plant infection by pathogenic oomycetes

Bernard Henrissat (1) , Federico Sabbadin (2) , Saioa Urresti (3) , Anna Avrova , Lydia Welsh , Peter Lindley , Michael Csukai , Julie Squires , Paul Walton (2) , Gideon Davies (2) , Neil Bruce (2) , Stephen Whisson , Simon Mcqueen-Mason

1 AFMB - Architecture et fonction des macromolécules biologiques
2 University of York [York, UK]
3 Instituto Biofisika

The oomycete Phytophthora infestans is a damaging crop pathogen and a model organism to study plant-pathogen interactions. We report the discovery of a family of copper-dependent lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) in plant pathogenic oomycetes and its role in plant infection by P. infestans . We show that LPMO-encoding genes are up-regulated early during infection and that the secreted enzymes oxidatively cleave the backbone of pectin, a charged polysaccharide in the plant cell wall. The crystal structure of the most abundant of these LPMOs sheds light on its ability to recognize and degrade pectin, and silencing the encoding gene in P. infestans inhibits infection of potato, indicating a role in host penetration. The identification of LPMOs as virulence factors in pathogenic oomycetes opens up opportunities in crop protection and food security.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Bernard Henrissat, Federico Sabbadin, Saioa Urresti, Anna Avrova, Lydia Welsh, et al.. Secreted pectin monooxygenases drive plant infection by pathogenic oomycetes. Science, 2021, 373 (6556), pp.774-779. ⟨10.1126/science.abj1342⟩. ⟨hal-03353931⟩