IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON MECHANISMS TO INTRACELLULARLY ACCOMMODATE BENEFICIAL OR PATHOGENIC FUNGI IN RICE
type: CreativeWork
description: Rice is a vital cereal crop that feeds over half of the world's population, making it crucial to explore mechanisms that enhance yield or reduce losses. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi such as Rhizophagus irregularis act as beneficial symbionts that enhance plant growth by facilitating nutrient uptake from the soil. In contrast, Magnaporthe oryzae causes rice blast disease, which significantly reduces annual rice yields. Despite their opposing roles, their respective colonization of rice roots share similarities at the transcriptional and morphological level in host cells. This study investigates potential common genetic mechanisms for the intracellular accommodation of these fungi in rice roots. The functional roles of genes commonly induced during both R. irregularis and M. oryzae root colonization were examined to determine if they are part of a shared plant genetic mechanism that promotes the accommodation of these fungi in rice roots, specifically three genes encoding an Exo70 exocyst component, a L-type lectin receptor-like kinase (LecRLK), and a Domain of Unknown Function 538 (DUF538) protein, respectively. While none of these genes were found to be directly essential for the intracellular accommodation of either fungus, a novel role for OsLecRLK in initiating AM symbiosis was suggested, evidenced by a penetration defect observed in oslecrlk mutants. Although LecRLKs have previously been implicated in microbial perception during symbiosis and pathogenesis, this research is the first to propose a role for a LecRLK in establishing symbiosis in rice. Furthermore, the study uncovered common spatiotemporal patterns in the promoter activity of a DUF538 gene during both R. irregularis and M. oryzae root colonization, suggesting that it may be part of a shared host accommodation program. Microbe recognition in plants is mediated by the detection of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) by plasma membrane-bound receptors, which then activate cellular signall…
abstract: Rice is a vital cereal crop that feeds over half of the world's population, making it crucial to explore mechanisms that enhance yield or reduce losses. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi such as Rhizophagus irregularis act as beneficial symbionts that enhance plant growth by facilitating nutrient uptake from the soil. In contrast, Magnaporthe oryzae causes rice blast disease, which significantly reduces annual rice yields. Despite their opposing roles, their respective colonization of rice roots share similarities at the transcriptional and morphological level in host cells. This study investigates potential common genetic mechanisms for the intracellular accommodation of these fungi in rice roots. The functional roles of genes commonly induced during both R. irregularis and M. oryzae root colonization were examined to determine if they are part of a shared plant genetic mechanism that promotes the accommodation of these fungi in rice roots, specifically three genes encoding an Exo70 exocyst component, a L-type lectin receptor-like kinase (LecRLK), and a Domain of Unknown Function 538 (DUF538) protein, respectively. While none of these genes were found to be directly essential for the intracellular accommodation of either fungus, a novel role for OsLecRLK in initiating AM symbiosis was suggested, evidenced by a penetration defect observed in oslecrlk mutants. Although LecRLKs have previously been implicated in microbial perception during symbiosis and pathogenesis, this research is the first to propose a role for a LecRLK in establishing symbiosis in rice. Furthermore, the study uncovered common spatiotemporal patterns in the promoter activity of a DUF538 gene during both R. irregularis and M. oryzae root colonization, suggesting that it may be part of a shared host accommodation program. Microbe recognition in plants is mediated by the detection of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) by plasma membrane-bound receptors, which then activate cellular signall…
author: Çataltepe, Gizem
keywords: Plant Sciences
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/9abca6d0-b0dd-41a7-b272-b0b0bf7906af/download
license: http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved
date published: 2024-09-22
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:32Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.118958