English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Zendy Plus

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Zendy Tools

Zendy Open

Summary   Phytophthora infestans  is a devastating pathogen in agricultural systems. Recently, an RNA silencing suppressor (PSR2, ‘ Phytophthora  suppressor of RNA silencing 2’) has been described in  P. infestans . PSR2 has been shown to increase the virulence of  Phytophthora  pathogens on their hosts. This gene is one of the few effectors present in many economically important  Phytophthora  species. In this study, we investigated: (i) the evolutionary history of  PSR2  within and between species of  Phytophthora ; and (ii) the interaction between sequence variation, gene expression and virulence. In  P. infestans , the highest  PiPSR2  expression was correlated with decreased symptom expression. The highest gene expression was observed in the biotrophic phase of the pathogen, suggesting that PSR2 is important during early infection. Protein sequence conservation was negatively correlated with host range, suggesting host range as a driver of PSR2 evolution. Within species, we detected elevated amino acid variation, as observed for other effectors; however, the frequency spectrum of the mutations was inconsistent with strong balancing selection. This evolutionary pattern may be related to the conservation of the host target(s) of PSR2 and the absence of known corresponding  R  genes. In summary, our study indicates that PSR2 is a conserved effector that acts as a master switch to modify plant gene regulation early during infection for the pathogen's benefit. The conservation of PSR2 and its important role in virulence make it a promising target for pathogen management.

Signatures of selection and host‐adapted gene expression of the Phytophthora infestans RNA silencing suppressor PSR2