1. A parasitic fungus employs mutated eIF4A to survive on rocaglate-synthesizing Aglaia plants
- Author
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Mingming Chen, Naoyoshi Kumakura, Hironori Saito, Ryan Muller, Madoka Nishimoto, Mari Mito, Pamela Gan, Nicholas T Ingolia, Ken Shirasu, Takuhiro Ito, Yuichi Shichino, and Shintaro Iwasaki
- Subjects
translation ,translation inhibitor ,Aglaia ,Ophiocordyceps ,Colletotrichum orbiculare ,eIF4A ,Medicine ,Science ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Plants often generate secondary metabolites as defense mechanisms against parasites. Although some fungi may potentially overcome the barrier presented by antimicrobial compounds, only a limited number of examples and molecular mechanisms of resistance have been reported. Here, we found an Aglaia plant-parasitizing fungus that overcomes the toxicity of rocaglates, which are translation inhibitors synthesized by the plant, through an amino acid substitution in a eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF). De novo transcriptome assembly revealed that the fungus belongs to the Ophiocordyceps genus and that its eIF4A, a molecular target of rocaglates, harbors an amino acid substitution critical for rocaglate binding. Ribosome profiling harnessing a cucumber-infecting fungus, Colletotrichum orbiculare, demonstrated that the translational inhibitory effects of rocaglates were largely attenuated by the mutation found in the Aglaia parasite. The engineered C. orbiculare showed a survival advantage on cucumber plants with rocaglates. Our study exemplifies a plant–fungus tug-of-war centered on secondary metabolites produced by host plants.
- Published
- 2023
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