Publications by authors named "Junjian Situ"

MicroRNA-like RNAs (milRNAs) play a significant role in the infection process by plant-pathogenic fungi. However, the specific functions and regulatory mechanisms of fungal milRNAs remain insufficiently elucidated. This study investigated the function of Foc-milR138, an infection-induced milRNA secreted by Fusarium oxysporum f.

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Plant cell death is regulated in plant-pathogen interactions. While some aspartic proteases (APs) participate in regulating programmed cell death or defense responses, the defense functions of most APs remain largely unknown. Here, we report on a virulence factor, PlPeL8, which is a pectate lyase found in the hemibiotrophic pathogen Peronophythora litchii.

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Cell wall degrading enzymes, including pectate lyases (PeLs), released by plant pathogens, break down protective barriers and/or activate host immunity. The direct interactions between PeLs and plant immune-related proteins remain unclear. We identify two PeLs, PlPeL1 and PlPeL1-like, critical for full virulence of Peronophythora litchii on litchi (Litchi chinensis).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The extracellular space of plant cells is a critical area where plants battle against microbial invasions, particularly from oomycete pathogens which use enzymes like pectin acetylesterase (PAE) to aid their infections.
  • - Research revealed that a specific PAE from the oomycete Peronophythora litchii (PlPAE5) inhibits the immune response of litchi plants by interacting with a lipid transfer protein (LcLTP1), crucial for plant disease resistance.
  • - The study highlights that while LcLTP1 can strengthen plant defenses against pathogens by activating the salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathway, PlPAE5 undermines this response by destabilizing LcLTP
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Oomycete pathogens can secrete hundreds of effectors into plant cells to interfere with the plant immune system during infection. Here, we identified a Arg-X-Leu-Arg (RXLR) effector protein from the most destructive pathogen of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.), Peronophythora litchii, and named it P.

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Oomycetes cause hundreds of destructive plant diseases, threatening agricultural production and food security. These fungus-like eukaryotes show multiple sporulation pattern including the production of sporangium, zoospore, chlamydospore and oospore, which are critical for their survival, dispersal and infection on hosts. Recently, genomic and genetic technologies have greatly promoted the study of molecular mechanism of sporulation in the genus and .

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CH zinc finger is one of the most common motifs found in the transcription factors (TFs) in eukaryotes organisms, which have a broad range of functions, such as regulation of growth and development, stress tolerance and pathogenicity. Here, was identified to encode a CH zinc finger in the litchi downy blight pathogen . is conserved in and species.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Cytochrome b is a key player in the electron transport chain and is important in the Class II cytochrome P450 monooxygenation system, but its functions in plant pathogenic oomycetes are not well understood.
  • - In this study, researchers identified and characterized a gene encoding a Cyt-b domain protein in an oomycete pathogen that affects litchi, finding that this protein is highly expressed during various stages of infection.
  • - Knockout mutants lacking this Cyt-b protein showed slower growth, altered stress responses, and reduced pathogenicity, indicating its crucial role in development, stress response, and overall virulence in oomycetes.
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As an evolutionarily conserved pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades function as the key signal transducers that convey information by protein phosphorylation. Here we identified as one of 14 predicted MAPKs encoding genes in the plant pathogenic oomycete . is conserved in and species.

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Litchi downy blight, caused by the phytopathogenic oomycete Peronophythora litchii, results in tremendous economic loss in litchi production every year. To successfully colonize the host cell, Phytophthora species secret hundreds of RXLR effectors that interfere with plant immunity and facilitate the infection process. Previous work has already predicted 245 candidate RXLR effector-encoding genes in P.

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This data article provides supporting information to a related research article "Identification of volatile organic compounds for the biocontrol of postharvest litchi fruit pathogen " (Zheng et al., 2019) [1]. The litchi downy blight (LDB) caused by is a major postharvest disease that can severely damage litchi trees and harvested litchi fruit.

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Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are ubiquitous and evolutionarily conserved signal transduction modules directing cellular respond to a diverse array of stimuli, in the eukaryotic organisms. In this study, was identified to encode a MAPK in , the oomycete pathogen causing litchi downy blight disease. PlMAPK10, containing a specific and highly conserved dual phosphorylation lip sequence SEY (Serine-Glutamic-Tyrosine), represents a novel group of MAPKs as previously reported.

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Sexual and asexual reproduction are two key processes in the pathogenic cycle of many filamentous pathogens. However in Peronophythora litchii, the causal pathogen for the litchi downy blight disease, critical regulator(s) of sexual or asexual differentiation has not been elucidated. In this study, we cloned a gene named PlM90 from P.

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