P356 SECRETED VENOM ALLERGEN-LIKE PROTEINS OF PLANT

P356
SECRETED VENOM ALLERGEN-LIKE PROTEINS OF PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES
MODULATE HOST DEFENCE RESPONSES IN PLANTS
Jose L. Lozano-Torres, Ruud H.P. Wilbers, Sonja Warmerdam, Anna Finkers-Tomczak,
Casper C. van Schaik, Hein Overmars, Jaap Bakker, Aska Goverse, Arjen Schots, Geert
Smant
Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, The
Netherlands
Recently, we showed that the secreted venom allergen-like protein of the potato cyst
nematode Globodera rostochiensis Gr-VAP1 physically interacts with the apoplastic cysteine
papain-like proteases Rcr3pim of Solanum pimpinellifolium. In the presence of the
extracellular immune receptor Cf-2 in tomato plants this interaction between Gr-VAP1 and
Rcr3pim activates a defence-related programmed cell death and resistance to nematodes.
Thus, Gr-VAP1 is able to trigger defence responses in a host plant of G. rostochiensis, but
the virulence function of this venom allergen-like protein in nematode parasitism is not known.
A specific knockdown of Gr-VAP1 expression in G. rostochiensis by RNA interference
revealed that its product promotes virulence of infective juveniles. The heterologous
expression of diverse homologous venom allergen-like proteins from cyst nematodes in
transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants altered their ability to mount an immune response to
cyst nematodes, multiple fungal plant pathogens, and the immunogenic peptide flg22. Global
gene expression analysis of these transgenic plants has shed light on the molecular
mechanisms underlying the modulation of plant innate immunity by venom allergen-like
proteins of plant-parasitic nematodes.

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