TY - JOUR A1 - Nwosu, Ebuka Canisius A1 - Brauer, Achim A1 - Kaiser, Jérôme A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Liebner, Susanne T1 - Evaluating sedimentary DNA for tracing changes in cyanobacteria dynamics from sediments spanning the last 350 years of Lake Tiefer See, NE Germany JF - Journal of paleolimnology N2 - Since the beginning of the Anthropocene, lacustrine biodiversity has been influenced by climate change and human activities. These factors advance the spread of harmful cyanobacteria in lakes around the world, which affects water quality and impairs the aquatic food chain. In this study, we assessed changes in cyanobacterial community dynamics via sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA) from well-dated lake sediments of Lake Tiefer See, which is part of the Klocksin Lake Chain spanning the last 350 years. Our diversity and community analysis revealed that cyanobacterial communities form clusters according to the presence or absence of varves. Based on distance-based redundancy and variation partitioning analyses (dbRDA and VPA) we identified that intensified lake circulation inferred from vegetation openness reconstructions, delta C-13 data (a proxy for varve preservation) and total nitrogen content were abiotic factors that significantly explained the variation in the reconstructed cyanobacterial community from Lake Tiefer See sediments. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) assigned to Microcystis sp. and Aphanizomenon sp. were identified as potential eutrophication-driven taxa of growing importance since circa common era (ca. CE) 1920 till present. This result is corroborated by a cyanobacteria lipid biomarker analysis. Furthermore, we suggest that stronger lake circulation as indicated by non-varved sediments favoured the deposition of the non-photosynthetic cyanobacteria sister clade Sericytochromatia, whereas lake bottom anoxia as indicated by subrecent- and recent varves favoured the Melainabacteria in sediments. Our findings highlight the potential of high-resolution amplicon sequencing in investigating the dynamics of past cyanobacterial communities in lake sediments and show that lake circulation, anoxic conditions, and human-induced eutrophication are main factors explaining variations in the cyanobacteria community in Lake Tiefer See during the last 350 years. KW - Late Holocene KW - Methylheptadecanes KW - Varves KW - Anthropocene KW - Sericytochromatia KW - Melainabacteria Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-021-00206-9 SN - 0921-2728 SN - 1573-0417 VL - 66 IS - 3 SP - 279 EP - 296 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Manna, Vincenzo A1 - Zoccarato, Luca A1 - Banchi, Elisa A1 - Arnosti, Carol A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Celussi, Mauro T1 - Linking lifestyle and foraging strategies of marine bacteria BT - selfish behaviour of particle-attached bacteria in the northern Adriatic Sea JF - Environmental microbiology reports N2 - Microbe-mediated enzymatic hydrolysis of organic matter entails the production of hydrolysate, the recovery of which may be more or less efficient. The selfish uptake mechanism, recently discovered, allows microbes to hydrolyze polysaccharides and take up large oligomers, which are then degraded in the periplasmic space. By minimizing the hydrolysate loss, selfish behaviour may be profitable for free-living cells dwelling in a patchy substrate landscape. However, selfish uptake seems to be tailored to algal-derived polysaccharides, abundant in organic particles, suggesting that particle-attached microbes may use this strategy. We tracked selfish polysaccharides uptake in surface microbial communities of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea, linking the occurrence of this processing mode with microbial lifestyle. Additionally, we set up fluorescently labelled polysaccharides incubations supplying phytodetritus to investigate a 'pioneer' scenario for particle-attached microbes. Under both conditions, selfish behaviour was almost exclusively carried out by particle-attached microbes, suggesting that this mechanism may represent an advantage in the race for particle exploitation. Our findings shed light on the selfish potential of particle-attached microbes, suggesting multifaceted foraging strategies exerted by particle colonizers. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.13059 SN - 1758-2229 VL - 14 IS - 4 SP - 549 EP - 558 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Minutillo, Serena A. A1 - Ruano-Rosa, David A1 - Abdelfattah, Ahmed A1 - Schena, Leonardo A1 - Malacrino, Antonino T1 - The fungal microbiome of wheat flour includes potential mycotoxin producers JF - Foods N2 - Consumers are increasingly demanding higher quality and safety standards for the products they consume, and one of this is wheat flour, the basis of a wide variety of processed products. This major component in the diet of many communities can be contaminated by microorganisms before the grain harvest, or during the grain storage right before processing. These microorganisms include several fungal species, many of which produce mycotoxins, secondary metabolites that can cause severe acute and chronic disorders. Yet, we still know little about the overall composition of fungal communities associated with wheat flour. In this study, we contribute to fill this gap by characterizing the fungal microbiome of different types of wheat flour using culture-dependent and -independent techniques. Qualitatively, these approaches suggested similar results, highlighting the presence of several fungal taxa able to produce mycotoxins. In-vitro isolation of fungal species suggest a higher frequency of Penicillium, while metabarcoding suggest a higher abundance of Alternaria. This discrepancy might reside on the targeted portion of the community (alive vs. overall) or in the specific features of each technique. Thus, this study shows that commercial wheat flour hosts a wide fungal diversity with several taxa potentially representing concerns for consumers, aspects that need more attention throughout the food production chain. KW - Penicillium KW - Alternaria KW - post-harvest KW - metabarcoding Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11050676 SN - 2304-8158 VL - 11 IS - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Glückler, Ramesh A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Kruse, Stefan A1 - Andreev, Andrei A1 - Vyse, Stuart Andrew A1 - Winkler, Bettina A1 - Biskaborn, Boris A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Dietze, Elisabeth T1 - Wildfire history of the boreal forest of south-western Yakutia (Siberia) over the last two millennia documented by a lake-sediment charcoal record JF - Biogeosciences : BG / European Geosciences Union N2 - Wildfires, as a key disturbance in forest ecosystems, are shaping the world's boreal landscapes. Changes in fire regimes are closely linked to a wide array of environmental factors, such as vegetation composition, climate change, and human activity. Arctic and boreal regions and, in particular, Siberian boreal forests are experiencing rising air and ground temperatures with the subsequent degradation of permafrost soils leading to shifts in tree cover and species composition. Compared to the boreal zones of North America or Europe, little is known about how such environmental changes might influence long-term fire regimes in Russia. The larch-dominated eastern Siberian deciduous boreal forests differ markedly from the composition of other boreal forests, yet data about past fire regimes remain sparse. Here, we present a high-resolution macroscopic charcoal record from lacustrine sediments of Lake Khamra (southwest Yakutia, Siberia) spanning the last ca. 2200 years, including information about charcoal particle sizes and morphotypes. Our results reveal a phase of increased charcoal accumulation between 600 and 900 CE, indicative of relatively high amounts of burnt biomass and high fire frequencies. This is followed by an almost 900-year-long period of low charcoal accumulation without significant peaks likely corresponding to cooler climate conditions. After 1750 CE fire frequencies and the relative amount of biomass burnt start to increase again, coinciding with a warming climate and increased anthropogenic land development after Russian colonization. In the 20th century, total charcoal accumulation decreases again to very low levels despite higher fire frequency, potentially reflecting a change in fire management strategies and/or a shift of the fire regime towards more frequent but smaller fires. A similar pattern for different charcoal morphotypes and comparison to a pollen and non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) record from the same sediment core indicate that broad-scale changes in vegetation composition were probably not a major driver of recorded fire regime changes. Instead, the fire regime of the last two millennia at Lake Khamra seems to be controlled mainly by a combination of short-term climate variability and anthropogenic fire ignition and suppression. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4185-2021 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 18 IS - 13 SP - 4185 EP - 4209 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Courtin, Jérémy A1 - Andreev, Andrei A1 - Raschke, Elena A1 - Bala, Sarah A1 - Biskaborn, Boris A1 - Liu, Sisi A1 - Zimmermann, Heike A1 - Diekmann, Bernhard A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Vegetation changes in Southeastern Siberia during the late pleistocene and the holocene JF - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution N2 - Relationships between climate, species composition, and species richness are of particular importance for understanding how boreal ecosystems will respond to ongoing climate change. This study aims to reconstruct changes in terrestrial vegetation composition and taxa richness during the glacial Late Pleistocene and the interglacial Holocene in the sparsely studied southeastern Yakutia (Siberia) by using pollen and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) records. Pollen and sedaDNA metabarcoding data using the trnL g and h markers were obtained from a sediment core from Lake Bolshoe Toko. Both proxies were used to reconstruct the vegetation composition, while metabarcoding data were also used to investigate changes in plant taxa richness. The combination of pollen and sedaDNA approaches allows a robust estimation of regional and local past terrestrial vegetation composition around Bolshoe Toko during the last similar to 35,000 years. Both proxies suggest that during the Late Pleistocene, southeastern Siberia was covered by open steppe-tundra dominated by graminoids and forbs with patches of shrubs, confirming that steppe-tundra extended far south in Siberia. Both proxies show disturbance at the transition between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene suggesting a period with scarce vegetation, changes in the hydrochemical conditions in the lake, and in sedimentation rates. Both proxies document drastic changes in vegetation composition in the early Holocene with an increased number of trees and shrubs and the appearance of new tree taxa in the lake's vicinity. The sedaDNA method suggests that the Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra vegetation supported a higher number of terrestrial plant taxa than the forested Holocene. This could be explained, for example, by the "keystone herbivore" hypothesis, which suggests that Late Pleistocene megaherbivores were able to maintain a high plant diversity. This is discussed in the light of the data with the broadly accepted species-area hypothesis as steppe-tundra covered such an extensive area during the Late Pleistocene. KW - last glacial KW - Holocene KW - Lake Bolshoe Toko KW - paleoenvironments KW - sedimentary ancient DNA KW - metabarcoding KW - trnL KW - pollen Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.625096 SN - 2296-701X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wassermann, Birgit A1 - Abdelfattah, Ahmed A1 - Wicaksono, Wisnu Adi A1 - Kusstatscher, Peter A1 - Müller, Henry A1 - Cernava, Tomislav A1 - Goertz, Simon A1 - Rietz, Steffen A1 - Abbadi, Amine A1 - Berg, Gabriele T1 - The Brassica napus seed microbiota is cultivar-specific and transmitted via paternal breeding lines JF - Microbial biotechnology N2 - Seed microbiota influence germination and plant health and have the potential to improve crop performance, but the factors that determine their structure and functions are still not fully understood. Here, we analysed the impact of plant-related and external factors on seed endophyte communities of 10 different oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) cultivars from 26 field sites across Europe. All seed lots harboured a high abundance and diversity of endophytes, which were dominated by six genera: Ralstonia, Serratia, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Pantoea, and Sphingomonas. The cultivar was the main factor explaining the variations in bacterial diversity, abundance and composition. In addition, the latter was significantly influenced by diverse biotic and abiotic factors, for example host germination rates and disease resistance against Plasmodiophora brassicae. A set of bacterial biomarkers was identified to discriminate between characteristics of the seeds, for example Sphingomonas for improved germination and Brevundimonas for disease resistance. Application of a Bayesian community approach suggested vertical transmission of seed endophytes, where the paternal parent plays a major role and might even determine the germination performance of the offspring. This study contributes to the understanding of seed microbiome assembly and underlines the potential of the microbiome to be implemented in crop breeding and biocontrol programmes. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14077 SN - 1751-7915 VL - 15 IS - 9 SP - 2379 EP - 2390 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Freimuth, Nina T1 - Elucidating the suppression of root hair formation by a member of a novel, short ENTH protein family in Arabidopsis thaliana T1 - Untersuchungen der Unterdrückung der Wurzelhaarbildung durch ein Mitglied einer neuen, kurzen ENTH-Proteinfamilie in Arabidopsis thaliana N2 - This work analyzed functional and regulatory aspects of the so far little characterized EPSIN N-terminal Homology (ENTH) domain-containing protein EPSINOID2 in Arabidopsis thaliana. ENTH domain proteins play accessory roles in the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) (Zouhar and Sauer 2014). Their ENTH domain interacts with membranes and their typically long, unstructured C-terminus contains binding motifs for adaptor protein complexes and clathrin itself. There are seven ENTH domain proteins in Arabidopsis. Four of them possess the canonical long C-terminus and participate in various, presumably CCV-related intracellular transport processes (Song et al. 2006; Lee et al. 2007; Sauer et al. 2013; Collins et al. 2020; Heinze et al. 2020; Mason et al. 2023). The remaining three ENTH domain proteins, however, have severely truncated C-termini and were termed EPSINOIDs (Zouhar and Sauer 2014; Freimuth 2015). Their functions are currently unclear. Preceding studies focusing on EPSINOID2 indicated a role in root hair formation: epsinoid2 T DNA mutants exhibited an increased root hair density and EPSINOID2-GFP was specifically located in non-hair cell files in the Arabidopsis root epidermis (Freimuth 2015, 2019). In this work, it was clearly shown that loss of EPSINOID2 leads to an increase in root hair density through analyses of three independent mutant alleles, including a newly generated CRISPR/Cas9 full deletion mutant. The ectopic root hairs emerging from non-hair positions in all epsinoid2 mutant alleles are most likely not a consequence of altered cell fate, because extensive genetic analyses placed EPSINOID2 downstream of the established epidermal patterning network. Thus, EPSINOID2 seems to act as a cell autonomous inhibitor of root hair formation. Attempts to confirm this hypothesis by ectopically overexpressing EPSINOID2 led to the discovery of post-transcriptional and -translational regulation through different mechanisms. One involves the little characterized miRNA844-3p. Interference with this pathway resulted in ectopic EPSINOID2 overexpression and decreased root hair density, confirming it as negative factor in root hair formation. A second mechanism likely involves proteasomal degradation. Treatment with proteasomal inhibitor MG132 led to EPSINOID2-GFP accumulation, and a KEN box degron motif was identified in the EPSINOID2 sequence associated with degradation through a ubiquitin/proteasome-dependent pathway. In line with a tight dose regulation, genetic analyses of all three mutant alleles indicate that EPSINOID2 is haploinsufficient. Lastly, it was revealed that, although EPSINOID2 promoter activity was found in all epidermal cells, protein accumulation was observed in N-cells only, hinting at yet another layer of regulation. N2 - In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden funktionelle und regulatorische Aspekte des bisher wenig charakterisierten EPSIN N-Terminal Homology (ENTH)-Domäne-enthaltenden Proteins EPSINOID2 in Arabidopsis thaliana untersucht. ENTH-Domänen Proteine spielen akzessorische Rollen in der Bildung von Clathrin-umhüllten Vesikeln (CCVs) (Zouhar and Sauer 2014). Ihre ENTH-Domäne interagiert mit Membranen und ihr typischerweise langer, unstrukturierter C-Terminus enthält Bindungsmotive für Adapterproteinkomplexe und Clathrin selbst. In Arabidopsis gibt es sieben ENTH-Domänen Proteine. Vier von ihnen besitzen den langen C-Terminus und sind an verschiedenen, vermutlich CCV-bezogenen intrazellulären Transportprozessen beteiligt (Song et al. 2006; Lee et al. 2007; Sauer et al. 2013; Heinze et al. 2020; Collins et al. 2020; Mason et al. 2023). Die verbleibenden drei ENTH-Domänen Proteine haben jedoch stark verkürzte C-Termini und wurden als EPSINOIDe bezeichnet (Zouhar and Sauer 2014; Freimuth 2015). Ihre Funktion ist derzeit unklar. Vorangegangene Studien, die sich auf EPSINOID2 konzentrierten, deuteten auf eine Rolle bei der Wurzelhaarbildung hin: epsinoid2 T-DNA-Mutanten zeigten eine erhöhte Wurzelhaardichte und EPSINOID2-GFP war speziell in Nicht-Haarzellen in der Wurzelepidermis von Arabidopsis lokalisiert (Freimuth 2015, 2019). In dieser Arbeit wurde durch Analysen von drei unabhängigen mutierten Allelen, einschließlich einer neu generierten CRISPR/Cas9-Deletionsmutante, klar gezeigt, dass der Verlust von EPSINOID2 zu einer Erhöhung der Wurzelhaardichte führt. Die ektopischen Wurzelhaare, die in allen epsinoid2 Allelen aus Nicht-Haar-Positionen hervorgehen, sind höchstwahrscheinlich keine Folge eines veränderten Zellschicksals, da umfangreiche genetische Analysen EPSINOID2 dem etablierten Netzwerk zur Ausbildung der epidermalen Identität nachgeschaltet platziert haben. Somit scheint EPSINOID2 als zellautonomer Inhibitor der Wurzelhaarbildung zu wirken. Versuche, diese Hypothese durch ektopische Überexpression von EPSINOID2 zu bestätigen, führten zur Entdeckung einer post-transkriptionellen und translationalen Regulation durch verschiedene Mechanismen. Bei einem davon handelt es sich um die wenig charakterisierte miRNA844-3p. Eine Beeinträchtigung dieses Signalwegs führte zu einer ektopischen Überexpression von EPSINOID2 und einer verringerten Wurzelhaardichte, was bestätigt, dass es sich um einen negativen Faktor bei der Wurzelhaarbildung handelt. Ein zweiter Mechanismus beinhaltet wahrscheinlich den proteasomalen Abbau. Die Behandlung mit dem proteasomalen Inhibitor MG132 führte zur Akkumulation von EPSINOID2-GFP, und in der Sequenz von EPSINOID2 wurde ein KEN-Box Degron Motiv identifiziert, das mit dem Abbau über einen Ubiquitin/Proteasom-abhängigen Weg verbunden ist. Im Einklang mit einer strengen Dosisregulierung zeigten genetische Analysen aller drei mutierten Allele, dass EPSINOID2 haploinsuffizient ist. Abschließend wurde festgestellt, dass die Aktivität des EPSINOID2 Promotors zwar in allen Epidermiszellen zu finden war, eine Proteinakkumulation jedoch nur in Nicht-Haarzellen beobachtet wurde, was auf eine weitere Ebene der Regulation hindeutet. KW - ENTH domain proteins KW - ENTH-Domänen Proteine KW - root hair formation KW - Wurzelhaarbildung KW - miRNA regulation KW - miRNA Regulation Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-634994 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dreymann, Nico A1 - Wuensche, Julia A1 - Sabrowski, Wiebke A1 - Moeller, Anja A1 - Czepluch, Denise A1 - Vu Van, Dana A1 - Füssel, Susanne A1 - Menger, Marcus M. T1 - Inhibition of Human Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator (uPA) Enzyme Activity and Receptor Binding by DNA Aptamers as Potential Therapeutics through Binding to the Different Forms of uPA JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - Urokinase-type plasminogen activator is widely discussed as a marker for cancer prognosis and diagnosis and as a target for cancer therapies. Together with its receptor, uPA plays an important role in tumorigenesis, tumor progression and metastasis. In the present study, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) was used to select single-stranded DNA aptamers targeting different forms of human uPA. Selected aptamers allowed the distinction between HMW-uPA and LMW-uPA, and therefore, presumably, have different binding regions. Here, uPAapt-02-FR showed highly affine binding with a K-D of 0.7 nM for HMW-uPA and 21 nM for LMW-uPA and was also able to bind to pro-uPA with a K-D of 14 nM. Furthermore, no cross-reactivity to mouse uPA or tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) was measured, demonstrating high specificity. Suppression of the catalytic activity of uPA and inhibition of uPAR-binding could be demonstrated through binding with different aptamers and several of their truncated variants. Since RNA aptamers are already known to inhibit uPA-uPAR binding and other pathological functions of the uPA system, these aptamers represent a novel, promising tool not only for detection of uPA but also for interfering with the pathological functions of the uPA system by additionally inhibiting uPA activity. KW - biomarker KW - cancer KW - cancer therapy KW - DNA aptamer KW - microscale thermophoresis (MST) KW - SELEX KW - surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) KW - uPA KW - uPAR KW - urokinase Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094890 SN - 1661-6596 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 23 IS - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Kai A1 - Hu, Jiege A1 - Yang, Shuai A1 - Xu, Wei A1 - Wang, Zhichao A1 - Zhuang, Peiwen A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Luo, Zhuhua T1 - Biodegradation of polyester polyurethane by the marine fungus Cladosporium halotolerans 6UPA1 JF - Journal of hazardous materials N2 - Lack of degradability and the accumulation of polymeric wastes increase the risk for the health of the environment. Recently, recycling of polymeric waste materials becomes increasingly important as raw materials for polymer synthesis are in short supply due to the rise in price and supply chain disruptions. As an important polymer, polyurethane (PU) is widely used in modern life, therefore, PU biodegradation is desirable to avoid its accumulation in the environment. In this study, we isolated a fungal strain Cladosporium halotolerans from the deep sea which can grow in mineral medium with a polyester PU (Impranil DLN) as a sole carbon source. Further, we demonstrate that it can degrade up to 80% of Impranil PU after 3 days of incubation at 28 celcius by breaking the carbonyl groups (1732 cm(-1)) and C-N-H bonds (1532 cm(-1) and 1247 cm(-1)) as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed polyols and alkanes as PU degradation intermediates, indicating the hydrolysis of ester and urethane bonds. Esterase and urease activities were detected in 7 days-old cultures with PU as a carbon source. Transcriptome analysis showed a number of extracellular protein genes coding for enzymes such as cutinase, lipase, peroxidase and hydrophobic surface binding proteins A (HsbA) were expressed when cultivated on Impranil PU. The yeast two-hybrid assay revealed that the hydrophobic surface binding protein ChHsbA1 directly interacts with inducible esterases, ChLip1 (lipase) and ChCut1 (cutinase). Further, the KEGG pathway for "fatty acid degradation " was significantly enriched in Impranil PU inducible genes, indicating that the fungus may use the degradation intermediates to generate energy via this pathway. Taken together, our data indicates secretion of both esterase and hydrophobic surface binding proteins by C. halotolerans plays an important role in Impranil PU absorption and subsequent degradation. Our study provides a mechanistic insight into Impranil PU biodegradation by deep sea fungi and provides the basis for future development of biotechnological PU recycling. KW - Impranil PU degradation KW - Lipase KW - Cutinase KW - HsbA KW - Fatty acid degradation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129406 SN - 0304-3894 SN - 1873-3336 VL - 437 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raffeiner, Margot A1 - Üstün, Suayib A1 - Guerra, Tiziana A1 - Spinti, Daniela A1 - Fitzner, Maria A1 - Sonnewald, Sophia A1 - Baldermann, Susanne A1 - Börnke, Frederik T1 - The Xanthomonas type-III effector XopS stabilizes CaWRKY40a to regulate defense responses and stomatal immunity in pepper (Capsicum annuum) JF - The plant cell N2 - As a critical part of plant immunity, cells that are attacked by pathogens undergo rapid transcriptional reprogramming to minimize virulence. Many bacterial phytopathogens use type III effector (T3E) proteins to interfere with plant defense responses, including this transcriptional reprogramming. Here, we show that Xanthomonas outer protein S (XopS), a T3E of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv), interacts with and inhibits proteasomal degradation of WRKY40, a transcriptional regulator of defense gene expression. Virus-induced gene silencing of WRKY40 in pepper (Capsicum annuum) enhanced plant tolerance to Xcv infection, indicating that WRKY40 represses immunity. Stabilization of WRKY40 by XopS reduces the expression of its targets, which include salicylic acid-responsive genes and the jasmonic acid signaling repressor JAZ8. Xcv bacteria lacking XopS display significantly reduced virulence when surface inoculated onto susceptible pepper leaves. XopS delivery by Xcv, as well as ectopic expression of XopS in Arabidopsis thaliana or Nicotiana benthamiana, prevented stomatal closure in response to bacteria and biotic elicitors. Silencing WRKY40 in pepper or N. benthamiana abolished XopS's ability to prevent stomatal closure. This suggests that XopS interferes with both preinvasion and apoplastic defense by manipulating WRKY40 stability and downstream gene expression, eventually altering phytohormone crosstalk to promote pathogen proliferation. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac032 SN - 1040-4651 SN - 1532-298X VL - 34 IS - 5 SP - 1684 EP - 1708 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Cary ER -