Arabidopsis HIPP27 is a host susceptibility gene for the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii : Host susceptibility gene for cyst nematode

Abstract

<p id="d5421583e300">Sedentary plant‐parasitic cyst nematodes are obligate biotrophs that infect the roots of their host plant. Their parasitism is based on the modification of root cells to form a hypermetabolic syncytium from which the nematodes draw their nutrients. The aim of this study was to identify nematode susceptibility genes in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> and to characterize their roles in supporting the parasitism of <i>Heterodera schachtii</i>. By selecting genes that were most strongly upregulated in response to cyst nematode infection, we identified HIPP27 ( <i>H</i>EAVY METAL‐ASSOCIATED <i>I</i>SOPRENYLATED <i>P</i>LANT <i>P</i>ROTEIN <i>27</i>) as a host susceptibility factor required for beet cyst nematode infection and development. Detailed expression analysis revealed that HIPP27 is a cytoplasmic protein and that <i>HIPP27</i> is strongly expressed in leaves, young roots and nematode‐induced syncytia. Loss‐of‐function Arabidopsis <i>hipp27</i> mutants exhibited severely reduced susceptibility to <i>H. schachtii</i> and abnormal starch accumulation in syncytial and peridermal plastids. Our results suggest that <i>HIPP27</i> is a susceptibility gene in Arabidopsis whose loss of function reduces plant susceptibility to cyst nematode infection without increasing the susceptibility to other pathogens or negatively affecting the plant phenotype. </p>