Characterization of the secretome of Plasmopara viticola by de novo transcriptome analysis

Plasmopara viticola is an oomycete pathogen that causes downy mildew, one of the most devastating diseases of grapevine. Currently, the molecular basis of the interaction between this pathogen and the grapevine host is not well understood. To explore the genes involved in P. viticola pathogenicity we performed RNA-Seq analysis of cDNAs derived from downy mildew-infected grapevine leaves for three different P. viticola isolates; two from China (JL-7-2, ZJ-1-1) and one from Australia (CSIRO-L-2). Approximately 30,000 unigenes were predicted for each of the three isolates and from these over 500 potential secreted proteins were identified. Using three prediction methods, a total of 51 PvRXLR effectors were identified to be present in the secretome, with at least 26 shared by two or more P. viticola isolates. Expression profiling, based on RNA-Seq data, indicated that PvRXLRs showed three different expression patterns during infection. Transient expression of selected PvRXLRs in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated that all were capable of suppressing programmed cell death triggered by the mouse BAX protein or the PAMP INF1. Additionally, BLASTP and Hidden Markov Model (HMM) searches identified 10 predicted proteins belonging to the CRN (Crinkler) group of oomycete effectors. Pfam domain analysis of the secretome also identified a diverse range of putative apoplastic effectors, the major groups being glycosyl hydrolases, peptidases and protease-inhibitors. This study provides the first detailed analysis of the secretome of grapevine downy mildew and its encoded effector arsenal.