Phytoplasmas are intracellular plant pathogens that heavily rely on host cell nutrients for survival and propagation due to their limited ability to synthesize essential substrates. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which plays a vital role in various cellular processes, including lipid and protein biosynthesis, is an attractive target for numerous intracellular pathogens to exploit. This study investigated the impact of potato purple top (PPT) phytoplasma infection on the ER in tomato plants. Abnormal accumulation of ER-resident proteins, disrupted ER network structures, and formation of protein aggregates in the phloem were observed using confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, indicating a phytoplasma-infection-induced disturbance in ER homeostasis. The colocalization of phytoplasmas with the accumulated ER-resident proteins suggests an association between ER stress, unfolded protein response (UPR) induction, and phytoplasma infection and colonization, with the ER stress response likely contributing to the host plant's defense mechanisms. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed a negative correlation between ER stress/UPR activation and PPT phytoplasma titer, implying the involvement of UPR in curbing phytoplasma proliferation. Inducing ER stress and activating the UPR pathway effectively decreased phytoplasma titer, while suppressing the ER-resident protein, binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) increased phytoplasma titer. These results highlight the ER as an intracellular battleground where phytoplasmas exploit host components for survival and multiplication, while host plants deploy defense mechanisms to counteract the invasion. Understanding the intricate interactions between phytoplasmas and plant hosts at the subcellular level, particularly within the ER, provides valuable insights for developing new strategies to control phytoplasma diseases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells12162110 | DOI Listing |
Insect Sci
September 2024
Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables Lab, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Chatsworth, New Jersey, United States.
While phytoplasma infections in plants are known to affect their interactions with aboveground herbivores, the impact of different genotypes on these infections and their effects on belowground herbivores remains largely unexplored. In cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), infection by the phytoplasma Candidatus Phytoplasma sp. subgroup 16SrIII-Y leads to false blossom disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiology (Basel)
July 2024
Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Cassava witches' broom disease (CWBD) is one of the most devastating diseases of cassava ( Crantz), and it threatens global production of the crop. In 2017, a phytoplasma, Phytoplasma luffae ( P. luffae), was reported in the Philippines, and it has been considered as the causal agent, despite unknown etiology and transmission of CWBD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
March 2024
Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
Phytoplasmas are intracellular pathogenic bacteria that infect a wide range of plant species, including agriculturally important crops and ornamental trees. However, our understanding of the relationship between symptom severity, disease progression, and phytoplasma concentration remains limited due to the inability to inoculate phytoplasmas mechanically into new plant hosts. The present study investigated phytoplasma titer dynamics and symptom development in periwinkle and tomato, both infected with the same potato purple top (PPT) phytoplasma strain using a small seedling grafting approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
March 2024
Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture, Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany.
In Germany, the phloem-sucking planthopper (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) currently represents the epidemiological driver for the spread of the syndrome "Basses Richesses" in sugar beets, which results in a reduced sugar content and an economic loss for the farmers. This disease is associated with the γ-proteobacterium ' Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus' and the Stolbur phytoplasma ' Phytoplasma solani'. Recently, was found in potato fields in Germany and is associated with Stolbur-like symptoms in this crop.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
May 2024
Department of Soil and Plant Microbiology, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain. Electronic address:
Forest ecosystems worldwide currently face worrying episodes of forest decline, which have boosted weakening and mortality of the trees. In the Mediterranean region, especially in the southeast Iberian Peninsula, Pinus sylvestris forests are severely affected by this phenomenon, and it has been commonly attributed to drought events. Remarkably, the role of root microbiota on pine decline has been overlooked and remains unclear.
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