Canker caused by the Ascomycete Valsa mali is the most destructive disease of apple in Eastern Asia, resulting in yield losses of up to 100%. This @entity364 induces severe @entity39 on apple, eventually leading to the death of the whole tree. Identification of @entity39 inducing factors may help to unravel the molecular bases for colonization of apple trees by V. mali. As a first step toward this goal, we identified and characterized the V. mali repertoire of candidate effector proteins (CEPs). In total, 193 secreted proteins with no known function were predicted from genomic data, of which 101 were V. mali-specific. Compared to non-CEPs predicted for the V. mali secretome, CEPs have shorter sequence length and a higher content of @entity462 residues. Based on transient over-expression in Nicotiana benthamiana performed for 70 randomly selected CEPs, seven V. mali Effector Proteins (VmEPs) were shown to significantly suppress @entity589 -induced @entity16179 . Furthermore, targeted deletion of VmEP1 resulted in a significant reduction of virulence. These results suggest that V. mali expresses secreted proteins that can suppress @entity16179 usually associated with effector-triggered immunity (ETI). ETI in turn may play an important role in the V. mali-apple interaction. The ability of V. mali to suppress plant ETI sheds a new light onto the interaction of a @entity364 with its host plant.

Candidate effector proteins of the necrotrophic apple canker pathogen Valsa mali can suppress XXXX -induced @entity16179 .

@entity462 :: ('MESH:D003545', 'Chemical') :: ['cysteine'] @entity589 :: ('581', 'Gene') :: ['BAX'] @entity39 :: ('MESH:D009336', 'Disease') :: ['necrosis'] @entity364 :: ('MESH:D009181', 'Disease') :: ['necrotrophic fungus'] @entity16179 :: ('MESH:D007619', 'Disease') :: ['PCD']
@entity589 :: (581,Gene) :: ['BAX']
