Purification and Characterization of a Novel Hypersensitive Response-Inducing Elicitor from Magnaporthe oryzae that Triggers Defense Response in Rice

BACKGROUND: Magnaporthe oryzae, the rice blast fungus, might secrete certain proteins related to plant-fungal pathogen interactions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we report the purification, characterization, and gene cloning of a novel hypersensitive response-inducing protein elicitor (MoHrip1) secreted by M. oryzae. The protein fraction was purified and identified by de novo sequencing, and the sequence matched the genomic sequence of a putative protein from M. oryzae strain 70-15 (GenBank accession No. XP_366602.1). The elicitor-encoding gene mohrip1 was isolated; it consisted of a 429 bp cDNA, which encodes a polypeptide of 142 amino acids with a molecular weight of 14.322 kDa and a pI of 4.53. The deduced protein, MoHrip1, was expressed in E. coli. And the expression protein collected from bacterium also forms necrotic lesions in tobacco. MoHrip1 could induce the early events of the defense response, including hydrogen peroxide production, callose deposition, and alkalization of the extracellular medium, in tobacco. Moreover, MoHrip1-treated rice seedlings possessed significantly enhanced systemic resistance to M. oryzae compared to the control seedlings. The real-time PCR results indicated that the expression of some pathogenesis-related genes and genes involved in signal transduction could also be induced by MoHrip1. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The results demonstrate that MoHrip1 triggers defense responses in rice and could be used for controlling rice blast disease.