Researchers from IVF-CAAS revealed the molecular mechanism of Cs MLO8/11 in regulating cucumber powdery mildew resistance

Recently, the innovation team of Cucurbitaceae Vegetable Genetics and Breeding at Institute of Vegetables and Flowers (IVF, CAAS) made important progress in molecular mechanism of powdery mildew (PM) resistance in cucumber. The paper was published in 《Horticulture Research》(IF="8.7)" with the title of ″CsMLO8/11 are required for full susceptibility of cucumber stem to powdery mildew and interact with CsCRK2 and CsRbohD″.

PM is one of the most destructive diseases that threaten cucumber production globally. Efficient breeding of novel PM-resistant cultivars, will require a robust understanding of the molecular mechanisms for cucumber resistance against PM. Using a genome wide association study (GWAS), we detected a locus significantly correlated with PM resistance in cucumber stem,  pm-s5.1 . A 1,449-bp insertion in the  Cs  MLO8    coding region at the  pm-  s  5.1  locus   results in enhanced stem PM resistance. Knockout mutants of  CsMLO8  and  CsMLO11  generated by   CRISPR/Cas9 both showed improved PM resistance in the stem, hypocotyl and leaves, and the double mutant  mlo8mlo11  displayed even stronger resistance. We found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation was higher in the stem of these mutants. Protein interaction assays suggested that CsMLO8 and CsMLO11 could physically interact with CsRbohD and CsCRK2, respectively. Further, it showed that CsMLO8 and CsCRK2 competitively interact with the C-terminus of CsRbohD to affect the CsCRK2-CsRbohD module-mediated ROS production during PM defense. These findings provide new insights into the understanding of CsMLO proteins during PM defense responses.

Figure 1. A schematic model explaining the possible mechanism of CsMLO8-triggered PM susceptibility in cucumber

This study was led by groups from IVF-CAAS, Prof. Zhang Shengping, Prof. Yang Xueyong, and Prof. Sun Jiaqiang are co-corresponding authors. Dong Shaoyun, Liu Xin, Han jianan, and Miao Han contributed equally to this work as co-first authors. This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission Program, the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System, Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science.

Link to this paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhad295