The root knot nematode effector MiEFF186 interacts with a splicing factor to reshape plant transcriptome
- 1INRAE, Universite Cote d Azur, ISA, Sophia Antipolis 06903, France
Abstract
The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita secretes specific effectors to manipulate root cells and induce their redifferentiation into multinucleate feeding giant cells, which are essential for its development. A dedicated screen identified the M. incognita MiEFF186a effector as a regulator of alternative splicing, a crucial mechanism of transcriptional gene regulation whereby a single gene can produce multiple mature mRNA variants, in plants. EFF186 is expressed in the esophageal glands of nematode juveniles, and in planta, it localizes to the nucleus and accumulates in the nucleolus. A yeast two-hybrid approach identified the nucleolar G-patch protein GDP1/CIS2 as a MiEFF186a target in tomato and Arabidopsis. Transcriptomic analyses of Arabidopsis roots ectopically expressing MiEFF186a or impaired in GDP1/CIS2 function revealed changes in both gene expression and alternative splicing, with partially overlapping responses. Finally, alteration of GDP1/CIS2 expression by virus-induced gene silencing in Solanaceae or in Arabidopsis gdp1 mutants affects susceptibility to M. incognita. Together, these results identify GDP1/CIS2 as a host target of MiEFF186a and support a role for these proteins in the modulation of host RNA metabolism during nematode parasitism.
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BibTeX
@misc{rantyroby2026root,
title = {{The root knot nematode effector MiEFF186 interacts with a splicing factor to reshape plant transcriptome}},
author = {S. Ranty-Roby and K. Mulet and S. Soule and L. Camborde and K. Huang and P. Lei and J. Philippon and C. Caravel and P. Foubert and M. B. de Luca and C. Huard-Chauveau and S. Jaubert and M. Crespi and J. Zhao and J. Bazin and B. Favery and M. Quentin},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.12.758410},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758410v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The root knot nematode effector MiEFF186 interacts with a splicing factor to reshape plant transcriptome
AU - S. Ranty-Roby
AU - K. Mulet
AU - S. Soule
AU - L. Camborde
AU - K. Huang
AU - P. Lei
AU - J. Philippon
AU - C. Caravel
AU - P. Foubert
AU - M. B. de Luca
AU - C. Huard-Chauveau
AU - S. Jaubert
AU - M. Crespi
AU - J. Zhao
AU - J. Bazin
AU - B. Favery
AU - M. Quentin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.12.758410
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758410v1
AB - The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita secretes specific effectors to manipulate root cells and induce their redifferentiation into multinucleate feeding giant cells, which are essential for its development. A dedicated screen identified the M. incognita MiEFF186a effector as a regulator of alternative splicing, a crucial mechanism of transcriptional gene regulation whereby a single gene can produce multiple mature mRNA variants, in plants. EFF186 is expressed in the esophageal glands of nematode juveniles, and in planta, it localizes to the nucleus and accumulates in the nucleolus. A yeast two-hybrid approach identified the nucleolar G-patch protein GDP1/CIS2 as a MiEFF186a target in tomato and Arabidopsis. Transcriptomic analyses of Arabidopsis roots ectopically expressing MiEFF186a or impaired in GDP1/CIS2 function revealed changes in both gene expression and alternative splicing, with partially overlapping responses. Finally, alteration of GDP1/CIS2 expression by virus-induced gene silencing in Solanaceae or in Arabidopsis gdp1 mutants affects susceptibility to M. incognita. Together, these results identify GDP1/CIS2 as a host target of MiEFF186a and support a role for these proteins in the modulation of host RNA metabolism during nematode parasitism.
ER -