PEČENKOVÁ, Tamara, HÁLA, Michal, KULICH, I., KOCOURKOVÁ, Daniela, DRDOVÁ, Edita, FENDRYCH, Matyáš, TOUPALOVÁ, Hana, ŽÁRSKÝ, Viktor. The role for the exocyst complex subunits Exo70B2 and Exo70H1 in the plant-pathogen interaction. Journal of Experimental Botany. 2011, 62(6), 2107-2116. ISSN 0022-0957. E-ISSN 1460-2431

Recently, the vesicle-tethering complex exocyst was found in plants. Unlike in yeasts and mammals, Exo70 subunits in plants are represented by a multigene family. For Exo70B2 and Exo70H1 paralogues, transcriptional up-regulation by an elicitor peptide elf18 was confirmed. Their ability to participate in the exocyst complex formation was inferred by the interaction with other exocyst subunits in the Y2H system. The sensitivity test to P. syringae pv. maculicola revealed enhanced susceptibility for exo70B2 and H1 mutant lines. After B. graminis f. sp. hordei inoculation, an increase in the proportion of abnormal papillae, with a wide halo made of vesicle-like structures, was found in exo70B2 mutants. In N. benthamiana leaf epidermis, GFP-Exo70H1 localizes in the vesicle-like structures, while GFP-Exo70B2 is localized mainly in the cytoplasm. It is concluded that both Exo70s are involved in the response to pathogens, with Exo70B2 having a more important role in cell wall related defense.