Phytopathogen Effectors Use Multiple Mechanisms to Manipulate Plant Autophagy

Autophagy is a central part of immunity and hence is a key target of pathogens. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which plant pathogens manipulate autophagy remain elusive. We identify a network of 88 interactions between 184 effectors from bacterial, fungal, oomycete, and nematode pathogens with 25 Arabidopsis autophagy (ATG) proteins. Notably, Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato (Pto) bacterial effectors HrpZ1, HopF3, and AvrPtoB employ distinct molecular strategies to modulate autophagy. Calcium-dependent HrpZ1 oligomerization targets ATG4b-mediated cleavage of ATG8 to enhance autophagy, while HopF3 also targets ATG8 but suppresses autophagy, with both effectors promoting infection. AvrPtoB affects ATG1 kinase phosphorylation and enhances bacterial virulence. Since pathogens inject limited numbers of effectors into hosts, our findings establish autophagy as a key target during infection. Additionally, as autophagy is enhanced and inhibited by these effectors, autophagy likely has different functions throughout infection and, thus, must be temporally and precisely regulated for successful infection.