A kiwellin disarms the metabolic activity of a secreted fungal virulence factor
Han X, Altegoer F, Steinchen W, Binnebesel L, Schuhmacher J, Glatter T, Giammarinaro PI, Djamei A, Rensing SA, Reissmann S, Kahmann R, Bange G.
Nature. 2019;565(7741):650-653
Fungi-induced plant diseases affect global food security and plant ecology. The biotrophic fungus Ustilago maydis causes smut disease in maize (Zea mays) plants by secreting numerous virulence effectors. Here we show that one of the 20 maize-encoded kiwellins (ZmKWL1) specifically blocks the catalytic activity of Cmu1. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that plant kiwellins have a versatile scaffold that can specifically counteract pathogen effectors such as Cmu1.
