Symbiosis-related genes sustain the development of a downy mildew pathogen on Arabidopsis thaliana
AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWThe interfaces through which nutrients are transferred from plant cells to arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and biotrophic hyphal pathogens are structurally similar. We report that in Arabidopsis thaliana, mutations in homologs of common symbiosis genes (CSGs) encoding homologs of the symbiosis receptor kinase SYMRK, the nucleoporins NUP133 and SEC13 or the cation channel POLLUX reduce the reproductive success of Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa). Analysis of the multiplication of extracellular bacterial pathogens, Hpa-induced cell death or callose accumulation, as well as Hpa-or flg22-induced defence marker gene expression, did not reveal any traces of constitutive or exacerbated defence responses. We discovered an age-dependent, possibly senescence-related transition of haustorial shape that occurred significantly earlier and at higher frequency in the CSG mutants. These findings point to a function of the homologs of common symbiosis genes in haustorial maintenance thus revealing an overlapping gene set for the intracellular accommodation of hyphal symbionts and pathogens.