Cross-Kingdom Global Proteomics Reveals Specific Modulation of Disease Signaling in Multi-Host Fungal Pathogen...

Area of Science:

• Plant Pathology
• Nematology
• Microbiology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Multihost pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum pose significant threats, causing diseases in diverse hosts including plants, worms, and humans.
• Understanding host-pathogen interactions is crucial for managing infectious diseases that cross kingdoms.
• Fusarium oxysporum causes vascular wilt in chickpea and fusariosis in Caenorhabditis elegans (worm) and humans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying Fusarium oxysporum's multihost pathogenicity.
• To identify and compare disease-responsive proteins in chickpea and worm following Fusarium infection.
• To elucidate common and unique cellular processes involved in cross-kingdom pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

• Temporal proteomic profiling of chickpea and worm infected with Fusarium oxysporum using SWATH-mass spectrometry.
• Morphological analysis to assess disease severity in both host organisms.
• Bioinformatic analyses including pairwise comparisons and over-representation analysis of identified proteins.

Main Results:

• SWATH analysis identified 1573 disease-responsive chickpea proteins (CaDRPs) and 2249 worm proteins (CeDRPs).
• CaDRPs were mainly associated with defense, synthesis, and signaling pathways in chloroplasts, while CeDRPs were linked to structural, metabolic, and signaling pathways in the cytoplasm.
• Common biological processes affected in both hosts included primary metabolism, ribosome biogenesis, calcium signaling, and proteostasis.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first evidence of translational plasticity in the Fusarium diseasome.
• The findings offer novel insights into the molecular basis of multihost pathogenesis by Fusarium oxysporum.
• Understanding these conserved and unique responses can inform strategies against cross-kingdom infectious diseases.