Tomato plant defends itself against nematode and fungus with a single immunoreceptor

That is the finding of research by parties including Wageningen University published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA on 4 June. The researchers discovered that a pathogenic fungus and a nematode both attack by switching off the same protein of the tomato plant. Because this protein is guarded in the tomato by a so-called immunoreceptor, the plant can successfully ward off attack by both the fungus and the nematode. The finding improves the scope for developing plants which are resistant to multiple attackers and so contributes to the sustainable production of food and green raw materials.

Immunoreceptors alert plants and animals when there are intruders. The detection of a pathogen by an immunoreceptor mobilises a rapid and vigorous defensive response. Plants have many fewer immunoreceptors than mammals, for example, but they are nevertheless resistant to most pathogens. The suggestion is therefore that plants make far more efficient use of their immunoreceptors, but how is not known.

Fungi and nematodes each have their own arsenal of weaponry to attack plants. It turns out that the fungus Cladosporium fulvum and the nematode Globodera rostochiensis, two feared enemies of tomato plants, direct their attacks at the same target: one particular protein of the tomato plant. That protein is guarded by the so-called immunoreceptor Cf-2. Previous research has already shown that this receptor can switch on the defences of the tomato plant against the fungus. It now turns out that that same Cf-2 receptor also offers the tomato plant protection against the nematode.

Tomato plants therefore use a single receptor to obtain resistance to multiple and very different attackers. This discovery improves the chances of developing plants that are resistant to multiple attackers. When researchers find a receptor which switches on defences against one particular pathogen, it is worth researching whether that receptor can also defend the plant against other pathogens. With that knowledge, plant breeders can then relatively easily develop varieties with resistance to multiple pathogens, which can then be used for the sustainable production of food and green raw materials.

This publication came out of the PhD research by Jose Lozano-Torres of the Laboratory of Nematology (WU). His research was jointly financed by NWO and the European Commission.

Publication:

Dual disease resistance mediated by the immune receptor Cf-2 in tomato requires a common virulence target of a fungus and a nematode, PNAS

Wageningen University is part of the international knowledge organisation Wageningen UR (University & Research centre). Wageningen UR’s mission is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’. Nine fundamental and applied research institutes, Wageningen University, and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences join forces in Wageningen UR to contribute to the solution of major issues in the domain of healthy food and our living environment. With 40 locations (in the Netherlands, Brazil and China), 6500 employees and 10 000 students Wageningen UR is one of the world’s leading knowledge institutions in its domain. The integrated approach of the topics and the collaboration between natural, technological and social disciplines are at the heart of the Wageningen Approach.