pFPL Vectors for High-Throughput Protein Localization in Fungi: Detecting Cytoplasmic Accumulation of Putative Effector Proteins

Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2015 Feb;28(2):107-21. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-05-14-0144-TA.

Abstract

As part of a large-scale project whose goal was to identify candidate effector proteins in Magnaporthe oryzae, we developed a suite of vectors that facilitate high-throughput protein localization experiments in fungi. These vectors utilize Gateway recombinational cloning to place a gene's promoter and coding sequences upstream and in frame with enhanced cyan fluorescent protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP), monomeric red fluorescence protein (mRFP), and yellow fluorescent protein or a nucleus-targeted mCHERRY variant. The respective Gateway cassettes were incorporated into Agrobacterium-based plasmids to allow efficient fungal transformation using hygromycin or geneticin resistance selection. mRFP proved to be more sensitive than the GFP spectral variants for monitoring proteins secreted in planta; and extensive testing showed that Gateway-derived fusion proteins produced localization patterns identical to their "directly fused" counterparts. Use of plasmid for fungal protein localization (pFPL) vectors with two different selectable markers provided a convenient way to label fungal cells with different fluorescent proteins. We demonstrate the utility of the pFPL vectors for identifying candidate effector proteins and we highlight a number of important factors that must be taken into consideration when screening for proteins that are translocated across the host plasma membrane.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens / genetics
  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens / physiology
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Cytoplasm / chemistry
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism*
  • Fungal Proteins / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / physiology
  • Magnaporthe / cytology
  • Magnaporthe / metabolism*
  • Oryza / cytology
  • Oryza / metabolism
  • Oryza / microbiology*
  • Plant Cells
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Protein Transport / physiology*
  • Transformation, Genetic

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins