1

Plant-Fungal
interaction and
ROS
Group member: Mudassar Iqbal and Saif ul
Eman
 2

Introduction
• Plant pathogens cause significant annual crop losses.
• Fungi have the potential to destroy enough food to feed up to
60% of the world's population.
• Crop production needs to increase by 60-110% to meet food
demands by 2050.
• Understanding fungal plant pathogens and plant-fungal
interactions is crucial for food security.
 3

Fungal Plant
Pathogens

• Classified as based on infection strategies and

lifestyles.
• Biotrophs
• Hemibiotrophs
• Necrotrophs
 4
Reactive oxygen
species
• ROS are highly reactive molecules that
contain oxygen.
• They include species like singlet oxygen,
superoxide, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen
peroxide.
• ROS are natural by-products of normal
cellular metabolism.
• They can also be produced in response to
environmental stressors such as UV radiation,
pollution, and pathogens.
 5

Plant Infection and ROS

• During plant infection, both pathogenic and

beneficial fungi encounter an oxidative burst
of ROS derived from the host.
• This burst is part of the plant's innate
immune response against fungal invaders.
• Fungi need to subdue this burst of ROS to
avoid triggering stronger plant defenses.
 6

Complex
interplay

• The interplay between ROS and plant-microbe interactions is complex.

• Fungal pathogens need to neutralize plant-derived ROS to establish infection and
evade host defenses.
• Beneficial fungi also encounter ROS but may have different mechanisms for
dealing with them.
• The balance between ROS production and neutralization is crucial for both fungi
and plants during interactions.
 7

Nox (NADPH oxidase) in Plant

Infection:
• Nox is an enzyme present in plants and fungi that generates reactive
oxygen species (ROS).
• It plays a crucial role in plant-fungal interactions during infection.
• ROS produced by Nox in fungal pathogens play a dual role in mediating
virulence and modulating the plant defense response.
8
9
 10

Neutralizing Host Reactive Oxygen

Species (ROS)
• Fungal Nox complexes produce ROS for differentiation of plant-
infecting structures.
• Host oxidative burst generates superoxide that needs to be neutralized.
• Innate immune responses in plants include callose deposition, increased
expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, and oxidative bursts.
 11
Recognition and Defence
Mechanisms

• Plants recognize extracellular motifs of

microbes, leading to rapid release of ROS
during PTI (Pattern-Triggered Immunity).
• Pathogen effector proteins can evade basal
defense mechanisms.
• Plants have resistance (R) proteins that
detect effector targets, triggering ETI
(Effector-Triggered Immunity).
 12
Effector Triggered
Immunity

• ETI results in oxidative bursts and

programmed cell death (PCD) known as the
hypersensitive response (HR).
• Unwanted effects of ETI, such as PCD,
hinder biotrophic survival.
• Pathogens have evolved effector proteins to
bypass detection from R proteins.
 13

Co-evolution and Pathogen

Specificity
• Co-evolution between plants and pathogens forms the basis of the zig-
zag model of plant pathology.
• Oxidative bursts are not effective against necrotrophic fungi such as
Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.
• Hemibiotrophs like Septoria tritici and Magnaporthe oryzae can tolerate
oxidative bursts to some extent.
 14

Fungal
Antioxidation
Systems
• Fungi possess antioxidation systems to maintain redox homeostasis and
counteract host ROS.
• Thioredoxin system includes thioredoxins (Trx) and thioredoxin reductase
(TrxR).
• Thioredoxin are redox proteins.
• Glutaredoxin proteins, part of the glutathione system, contribute to ROS
scavenging.
• Reduction of Glutaredoxins by Glutathione.
 15

Enzymes Involved in ROS

Detoxification
• Other enzymes involved in ROS detoxification include superoxide
dismutase (SOD), peroxidases, and catalases.
• SOD catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide to hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2).
• Catalases and glutaredoxins further convert H2O2 to water (H2O) or
neutralize it.
• CuZnSOD is the primary cellular detoxifier of superoxide in the cytosol,
nucleus, and mitochondrial inner membrane.
 16

Cellular Detoxification and

Transcriptional Regulation
• Yap1, a transcriptional regulator, activates antioxidation genes in
response to oxidative stress.
• Yap1 in the nucleus binds to the promoters of oxidative stress response
genes encoding antioxidants and thiol-reducing pathways.
• Under Normal Conditions CRM 1 prevents accumulation of Yap1.
• Yap1 is important for fungal pathogenesis
 17

Antioxidative
response in:

Biotrophs
Hemibiotrophs
Necrotrophs
 18

Oxidative Burst in
Symbiotic Relationships

• Endophytes and mycorrhizal fungi experience an oxidative burst upon colonizing

host plants.
• Upregulation of antioxidation genes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increases
stress tolerance in plant hosts.
• Redox homeostasis is crucial for successful colonization in symbiotic
relationships.
 19

Oxidative Burst in
Necrotrophic
Relationships
• Necrotrophic fungi may utilize host ROS accumulation to trigger hypersensitive
response (HR) and kill host cells.
• Specific antioxidation genes and enzymes vary within different fungal-host
interactions.
• Understanding the interplay between fungal and host oxidative stress responses is
necessary for effective plant defense strategies.
 20

Biotrophs and Endophytes

• Upon colonization, endophytes and

mycorrhizal fungi experience an oxidative
burst.
• Upregulation of antioxidation genes in
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhances stress
tolerance.
• Redox homeostasis is crucial for successful
colonization in symbiotic relationships.
• The ericoid mycorrhizal fungus
Oidiodendron maius relies on SOD1 activity
for ROS sensitivity and colonization.
 21
Hemi-Biotrophs

• The hemibiotrophic fungus M. oryzae

possesses antioxidation genes and systems to
counteract oxidative stress.
• Thioredoxin and glutathione systems play
key roles in M. oryzae pathogenicity.
• Specific components of the thioredoxin
system, such as Tpx1, Trr1, and Trx2, are
crucial for ROS metabolism and in planta
proliferation.
• Glutathione reductase (Gtr1) is required for
in planta proliferation and neutralizing host-
derived ROS.
 22

Necrotrophs

• Necrotrophic fungi like B. cinerea and S.

sclerotiorum utilize host ROS accumulation
for triggering hypersensitive response (HR).
• Yap1 homologs, such as Bap1 in B. cinerea
and ChAP1 in Cochliobolus heterostrophus,
are involved in ROS detoxification.
• Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and
thioredoxin system components play roles in
B. cinerea survival.
• Understanding the interplay of specific
antioxidation genes and enzymes within
fungal-host interactions is critical.
 23

Thank you