Cellulose Synthesis in Phytophthora infestans Pathogenesis

摘要

Plant pathogens breach the plant cell to reach the nutrients within and yet must also avoid detection by the plant defenses (reviewed in Huckelhoven, 2007). During infection, fungal and oomycete pathogens make new cell wall and at the same time break down the host cell wall. First, the pathogen synthesizes the new cell wall to make infection-associated structures. Second, the pathogen breaks down the physical barrier of the plant cell wall by both enzymatic action and/or mechanical pressure, depending on the infection strategy of the pathogen. Unlike most fungal pathogens, which have chitin-based cell walls, the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans has a cell wall composed mainly of cellulose. Cellulose synthesis in plants involves regulation of two groups of cellulose synthases (CesA), specific for primary and secondary cell wall formation (reviewed in Joshi and Mansfield, 2007), but the role of cellulose synthesis in P. infestans has not been comprehensively examined.