Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize
The biotrophic fungus <i>Ustilago maydis</i>, which causes smut disease in maize, secretes numerous proteins upon plant colonization. Some of them, termed effectors, help to evade plant defenses and manipulate cellular processes within the host. The function of many proteins specifically...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Marvin Christ Itzel Rubio Elizalde Paul Weiland Antonia Kern Thomas Iwen Christopher-Nils Mais Jan Pané-Farré Stephan Kiontke Florian Altegoer Johannes Freitag Gert Bange |
| author_facet | Marvin Christ Itzel Rubio Elizalde Paul Weiland Antonia Kern Thomas Iwen Christopher-Nils Mais Jan Pané-Farré Stephan Kiontke Florian Altegoer Johannes Freitag Gert Bange |
| author_sort | Marvin Christ |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The biotrophic fungus <i>Ustilago maydis</i>, which causes smut disease in maize, secretes numerous proteins upon plant colonization. Some of them, termed effectors, help to evade plant defenses and manipulate cellular processes within the host. The function of many proteins specifically secreted during infection remains elusive. In this study, we biochemically characterized one such protein, UMAG_00027, that is highly expressed during plant infection. We show that UMAG_00027 is a secreted protein with a lectin-like fold and therefore term it Llp1 (lectin-like-protein 1). Llp1 decorated the fungal cell wall of cells grown in axenic culture or proliferating in planta, which is in agreement with its potential sugar-binding ability. We were unable to identify the precise sugar moieties that are bound by Llp1. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of <i>llp1</i> reveals that the gene is not essential for fungal virulence. A structural search shows the presence of several other lectin-like proteins in <i>U. maydis</i> that might compensate for the function of Llp1 in ∆<i>llp1</i> mutants. We therefore speculate that Llp1 is part of a family of lectin-like proteins with redundant functions. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2309-608X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Journal of Fungi |
| spelling | doaj-art-0daba110fbc4451cb7c8a1e1e25850e22025-08-20T02:45:00ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2025-02-0111216410.3390/jof11020164Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of MaizeMarvin Christ0Itzel Rubio Elizalde1Paul Weiland2Antonia Kern3Thomas Iwen4Christopher-Nils Mais5Jan Pané-Farré6Stephan Kiontke7Florian Altegoer8Johannes Freitag9Gert Bange10Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyInstitute of Microbiology, Heinrich-Heine University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyCenter for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Departments of Biology and Chemistry, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Straße 14, 35043 Marburg, GermanyThe biotrophic fungus <i>Ustilago maydis</i>, which causes smut disease in maize, secretes numerous proteins upon plant colonization. Some of them, termed effectors, help to evade plant defenses and manipulate cellular processes within the host. The function of many proteins specifically secreted during infection remains elusive. In this study, we biochemically characterized one such protein, UMAG_00027, that is highly expressed during plant infection. We show that UMAG_00027 is a secreted protein with a lectin-like fold and therefore term it Llp1 (lectin-like-protein 1). Llp1 decorated the fungal cell wall of cells grown in axenic culture or proliferating in planta, which is in agreement with its potential sugar-binding ability. We were unable to identify the precise sugar moieties that are bound by Llp1. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of <i>llp1</i> reveals that the gene is not essential for fungal virulence. A structural search shows the presence of several other lectin-like proteins in <i>U. maydis</i> that might compensate for the function of Llp1 in ∆<i>llp1</i> mutants. We therefore speculate that Llp1 is part of a family of lectin-like proteins with redundant functions.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/2/164<i>Ustilago maydis</i>lectincell wallbiotrophyredundancysmut fungi |
| spellingShingle | Marvin Christ Itzel Rubio Elizalde Paul Weiland Antonia Kern Thomas Iwen Christopher-Nils Mais Jan Pané-Farré Stephan Kiontke Florian Altegoer Johannes Freitag Gert Bange Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize Journal of Fungi <i>Ustilago maydis</i> lectin cell wall biotrophy redundancy smut fungi |
| title | Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize |
| title_full | Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize |
| title_fullStr | Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize |
| title_short | Structural and Functional Analysis of the Lectin-like Protein Llp1 Secreted by <i>Ustilago maydis</i> upon Infection of Maize |
| title_sort | structural and functional analysis of the lectin like protein llp1 secreted by i ustilago maydis i upon infection of maize |
| topic | <i>Ustilago maydis</i> lectin cell wall biotrophy redundancy smut fungi |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/2/164 |
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