Live-cell imaging of plant-pathogen interactions is often hampered by the tissue complexity and multicell layered nature of the host. Here, we established a novel pathosystem with the moss Physcomitrella patens as host for Phytophthora. The tip-growing protonema cells of this moss are ideal for visualizing interactions with the pathogen over time using high-resolution microscopy. We tested four Phytophthora species for their ability to infect P. patens and showed that P. sojae and P. palmivora were only rarely capable to infect P. patens. In contrast, P. infestans and P. capsici frequently and successfully penetrated moss protonemal cells, showed intracellular hyphal growth and formed sporangia. Next to these successful invasions, many penetration attempts failed. Here the pathogen was blocked by a barrier of cell wall material deposited in papilla-like structures, a defence response that is common in higher plants. Another common response is the upregulation of defence-related genes upon infection and also in moss we observed this upregulation in tissues infected with Phytophthora. For more advanced analyses of the novel pathosystem we developed a special set-up that allowed live-cell imaging of subcellular defence processes by high-resolution microscopy. With this set-up, we revealed that Phytophthora infection of moss induces repositioning of the nucleus, accumulation of cytoplasm and rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton, but not of microtubules.

The successful invasion of host tissue by (hemi-)biotrophic plant pathogens is dependent on modifications of the host plasma membrane to facilitate the two-way transfer of proteins and other compounds. Haustorium formation and the establishment of extrahaustorial membranes are probably dependent on a variety of enzymes that modify membranes in a coordinated fashion. Phospholipases, enzymes that hydrolyse phospholipids, have been implicated as virulence factors in several pathogens. The oomycete Phytophthora infestans is a hemibiotrophic pathogen that causes potato late blight. It possesses different classes of phospholipase D (PLD) proteins, including small PLD-like proteins with and without signal peptide (sPLD-likes and PLD-likes, respectively). Here, we studied the role of sPLD-like-1, sPLD-like-12 and PLD-like-1 in the infection process. They are expressed in expanding lesions on potato leaves and during in vitro growth, with the highest transcript levels in germinating cysts. When expressed in planta in the presence of the silencing suppressor P19, all three elicited a local cell death response that was visible at the microscopic level as autofluorescence and strongly boosted in the presence of calcium. Moreover, inoculation of leaves expressing the small PLD-like genes resulted in increased lesion growth and greater numbers of sporangia, but this was abolished when mutated PLD-like genes were expressed with non-functional PLD catalytic motifs. These results show that the three small PLD-likes are catalytically active and suggest that their enzymatic activity is required for the promotion of virulence, possibly by executing membrane modifications to support the growth of P. infestans in the host.

BackgroundThe oomycete Phytophthora infestans causes late blight on potato and tomato. Despite extensive research, the P. infestans-host interaction is still poorly understood. To find new ways to further unravel this interaction we established a new infection system using MsK8 tomato cells. These cells grow in suspension and can be maintained as a stable cell line that is representative for tomato.ResultsMsK8 cells can host several Phytophthora species pathogenic on tomato. Species not pathogenic on tomato could not infect. Microscopy revealed that 16 h after inoculation up to 36% of the cells were infected. The majority were penetrated by a germ tube emerging from a cyst (i.e. primary infection) while other cells were already showing secondary infections including haustoria. In incompatible interactions, MsK8 cells showed defense responses, namely reactive oxygen species production and cell death leading to a halt in pathogen spread at the single cell level. In compatible interactions, several P. infestans genes, including RXLR effector genes, were expressed and in both, compatible and incompatible interactions tomato genes involved in defense were differentially expressed.ConclusionsOur results show that P. infestans can prosper as a pathogen in MsK8 cells; it not only infects, but also makes haustoria and sporulates, and it receives signals that activate gene expression. Moreover, MsK8 cells have the ability to support pathogen growth but also to defend themselves against infection in a similar way as whole plants. An advantage of MsK8 cells compared to leaves is the more synchronized infection, as all cells have an equal chance of being infected. Moreover, analyses and sampling of infected tissue can be performed in a non-destructive manner from early time points of infection onwards and as such the MsK8 infection system offers a potential platform for large-scale omics studies and activity screenings of inhibitory compounds.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13007-017-0240-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No abstract

No abstract