Open AccessCellulase from Trichoderma harzianum interacts with roots and triggers induced systemic resistance to foliar disease in maize
Author(s) -
Kandasamy Saravanakumar,
Lili Fan,
Kehe Fu,
Chuanjin Yu,
Meng Wang,
Hao Xia,
Jianan Sun,
Yaqian Li,
Jie Chen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep35543
Subject(s) - trichoderma harzianum , biology , gene , trichoderma , electrophoretic mobility shift assay , plant disease resistance , effector , plant defense against herbivory , promoter , mutant , methyl jasmonate , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , gene expression , genetics , biological pest control
Trichoderma harzianum is well known to exhibit induced systemic resistance (ISR) to Curvularia leaf spot. We previously reported that a C6 zinc finger protein ( Thc6 ) is responsible for a major contribution to the ISR to the leaf disease, but the types of effectors and the signals mediated by Thc6 from Trichoderma are unclear. In this work, we demonstrated that two hydrolases, Thph1 and Thph2 , from T. harzianum were regulated by Thc6 . Furthermore, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) study revealed that Thc6 regulated mRNA expression by binding to GGCTAA and GGCTAAA in the promoters of the Thph1 and Thph2 genes, respectively. Moreover, the Thph1 and Thph2 proteins triggered the transient production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and elevated the free cytosolic calcium levels in maize leaf. Furthermore, the genes related to the jasmonate/ethylene signaling pathway were up-regulated in the wild-type maize strain. However, the Δ Thph1 - or Δ Thph2 -deletion mutants could not activate the immune defense-related genes in maize to protect against leaf disease. Therefore, we conclude that functional Thph1 and Thph2 may be required in T. harzianum to activate ISR in maize.