The ACE1 secondary metabolite gene cluster is a pathogenicity factor of wheat blast fungus

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 812 - 10
• Main Authors: Vy, Trinh T. P., Inoue, Yoshihiro, Asuke, Soichiro, Chuma, Izumi, Nakayashiki, Hitoshi, Tosa, Yukio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04-07-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 42/41; 45/23; 631/326/193/2542; 631/449/711; Aggressiveness; Alleles; Ascomycota - genetics; Ascomycota - pathogenicity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blast; Cell walls; Disease resistance; Disease Resistance - genetics; Food security; Fungal Proteins - genetics; Fungal Proteins - metabolism; Fungi; Life Sciences; Multigene Family; Oryza - microbiology; Pathogenicity; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Population genetics; Pyricularia oryzae; Secondary Metabolism - genetics; Triticum - microbiology; Virulence Factors - genetics; Virulence Factors - metabolism; Wheat
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06517-7

Wheat blast caused by
Pyricularia oryzae
pathotype
Triticum
is now becoming a very serious threat to global food security. Here, we report an essential pathogenicity factor of the wheat blast fungus that is recognized and may be targeted by a rice resistance gene. Map-based cloning of
Pwt2
showed that its functional allele is the
ACE1
secondary metabolite gene cluster of the wheat blast fungus required for its efficient penetration of wheat cell walls.
ACE1
is required for the strong aggressiveness of
Triticum
,
Eleusine
, and
Lolium
pathotypes on their respective hosts, but not for that of
Oryza
and
Setaria
pathotypes on rice and foxtail millet, respectively. All
ACE1
alleles found in wheat blast population are recognized by a rice resistance gene,
Pi33
, when introduced into rice blast isolates.
ACE1
mutations for evading the recognition by
Pi33
do not affect the aggressiveness of the rice blast fungus on rice but inevitably impair the aggressiveness of the wheat blast fungus on wheat. These results suggest that a blast resistance gene already defeated in rice may be revived as a durable resistance gene in wheat by targeting an Achilles heel of the wheat blast fungus.
Molecular analyses suggest that a blast resistance gene already defeated in rice may be revived as a durable resistance gene in wheat by targeting ACE1, a pathogenicity factor of the wheat blast fungus.