# Oomycetes manipulate plant innate immunity through galacturonide oxidases

## TL;DR

This study shows how the pathogen Phytophthora infestans uses enzymes to break down plant cell walls and avoid triggering plant defenses, aiding infection.

## Contribution

The study identifies BBEs as novel pathogenicity factors in oomycetes that manipulate plant immunity by oxidizing pectin fragments.

## Key findings

- BBE-encoding genes are upregulated early during infection and oxidize pectin fragments in the plant cell wall.
- BBEs prefer longer pectin fragments that avoid detection and ROS signaling in plants.
- BBEs localize at germ tube tips and haustoria, and their silencing reduces infection.

## Abstract

Phytophthora infestans is a damaging crop pathogen and a model oomycete for studying plant-pathogen interactions. We report the functional characterisation of a group of P. infestans berberine bridge enzyme-like proteins (BBEs) and their role in plant infection. We demonstrate that BBE-encoding genes are upregulated early during infection and that the secreted enzymes specifically oxidise fragments of pectin, the most abundant charged polysaccharide in the plant cell wall. We further show that these enzymes preferentially oxidise longer pectin fragments, which evade detection by the plant and fail to trigger reactive oxygen species (ROS) signalling. Microscopy revealed that the most abundant P. infestans BBE localises at germ tube tips prior to leaf penetration, and at haustoria during early infection. Combined with the reduced infection observed upon silencing of the encoding genes, these findings point to a key role for this enzyme class in host penetration and colonisation by microbial pathogens. The identification of BBEs as oomycete pathogenicity factors opens new opportunities for crop protection and food security.

The oomycete Phytophthora infestans is a damaging crop pathogen. Here, the authors show that a group of P. infestans secreted enzymes play roles in penetration and colonization of host plants by oxidising fragments of the polysaccharide pectin in the plant cell wall.