%0 Journal Article
%T The unconventional resistance protein PTR recognizes the Magnaporthe oryzae effector AVR-Pita in an allele-specific manner.
%A Xiao G
%A Laksanavilat N
%A Cesari S
%A Lambou K
%A Baudin M
%A Jalilian A
%A Telebanco-Yanoria MJ
%A Chalvon V
%A Meusnier I
%A Fournier E
%A Tharreau D
%A Zhou B
%A Wu J
%A Kroj T
%J Nat Plants
%V 10
%N 6
%D 2024 06 4
%M 38834685
%F 17.352
%R 10.1038/s41477-024-01694-z
%X Blast disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most devastating rice diseases. Disease resistance genes such as Pi-ta or Pi-ta2 are critical in protecting rice production from blast. Published work reports that Pi-ta codes for a nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat domain protein (NLR) that recognizes the fungal protease-like effector AVR-Pita by direct binding. However, this model was challenged by the recent discovery that Pi-ta2 resistance, which also relies on AVR-Pita detection, is conferred by the unconventional resistance gene Ptr, which codes for a membrane protein with a cytoplasmic armadillo repeat domain. Here, using NLR Pi-ta and Ptr RNAi knockdown and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutant rice lines, we found that AVR-Pita recognition relies solely on Ptr and that the NLR Pi-ta has no role in it, indicating that it is not the Pi-ta resistance gene. Different alleles of Ptr confer different recognition specificities. The A allele of Ptr (PtrA) detects all natural sequence variants of the effector and confers Pi-ta2 resistance, while the B allele of Ptr (PtrB) recognizes a restricted set of AVR-Pita alleles and, thereby, confers Pi-ta resistance. Analysis of the natural diversity in AVR-Pita and of mutant and transgenic strains identified one specific polymorphism in the effector sequence that controls escape from PtrB-mediated resistance. Taken together, our work establishes that the M. oryzae effector AVR-Pita is detected in an allele-specific manner by the unconventional rice resistance protein Ptr and that the NLR Pi-ta has no function in Pi-ta resistance and the recognition of AVR-Pita.