Explore the function of Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) in citrus resistance against Huanglongbing (HLB).
Yixiao Huang: University of Florida
<div>Explore the function of Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) in citrus resistance against Huanglongbing (HLB).</p> <p>Yixiao Huang, Nian Wang</p> <p>Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA.</p> <p>*Correspondence author: Nian Wang, <a href="mailto:nianwang@ufl.edu";>nianwang@ufl.edu<;/a></p> <p>Huanglongbing (HLB) is one of the most devastating diseases of citrus in the world. It is caused by <em>Candidatus</em> Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) and transmitted by Asian citrus psyllid. Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) are a family of proteins in the plant apoplast which can be classified into nine subfamilies. They are considered as hubs in plant immunity because previous reports have shown that PLCPs can trigger plant defense against bacteria, fungi and nematodes. In addition, PLCPs are common targets of many pathogen effectors. Specially, our previous study showed that multiple putative Sec-dependent effectors of Las interact with PLCPs based on Yeast-two-hybrid assays. Here we will report our recent progress in functionally characterizing PLCPs. Genome editing via the CRISPR technology is being used to generate mutants of PLCPs. Overexpression of PLCPs in citrus and gene silencing of PLCPs are also being conducted to investigate the roles of PLCPs in HLB disease development.</div>
|
|
