Verticillium TRADE – a fungal effector that induces plant cell identity switches and reprograms plants for enhanced drought resilience

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

12:50 - 13:00

Location: Room M+N

Presenting Author(s)

CT

Corinna Thurow

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany

Author(s)

KS

Konrad Subieta

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
LW

Leonie Weber

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
JL

Jan-Niclas Lübbers

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
KW

Karin Wiesotzki

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
LP

Leon Pierdzig

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
KS

Kerstin Schmitt

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
OV

Oliver Valerius

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
TT

Thomas Teichmann

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
VL

Volker Lipka

Department of Plant Cell Biology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany

Abstract Text: Climate change-driven drought stress and pathogen-induced diseases often coincide and thus represent a significant challenge for plant science and crop production. Wilt pathogens that invade water-conducting plant tissues exacerbate the issue and affect a broad range of agricultural crops. While fungal infections by the vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae typically cause wilt symptoms due to xylem occlusion, the related V. longisporum induces the formation of new tracheary elements. This process not only enhances its virulence but also increases the host plant’s water storage capacity and resilience to drought stress. In this study, we identified a secreted Verticillium protein, TRANSDIFFERENTIATION EFFECTOR (TRADE), which drives the transformation of bundle sheath and xylem parenchyma cells into tracheary elements. We demonstrate that TRADE interacts with the intracellular plant protein VARICOSE (VCS), a conserved component of the mRNA turnover machinery and an ortholog of the metazoan protein ENHANCER OF DECAPPING 4 (EDC4/HEDLS/Ge-1). The TRADE-VCS interaction leads to SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 1 (SNF1)-related protein kinase (SRK)-dependent phosphorylation, disrupting VCS function. This, in turn, alters the abundance of mRNAs encoding key regulators of xylem differentiation, revealing how a single pathogen effector protein orchestrates complex tissue-specific developmental reprogramming and can enhance abiotic stress resilience.