BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

Many of the world's most devastating crop diseases are caused by fungal pathogens that elaborate specialized infection structures to invade plant tissue. Here, we present a quantitative mass -spectrometry -based phosphoproteomic analysis of infection -related development by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae , which threatens global food security. We mapped 8,005 phosphosites on 2,062 fungal proteins following germination on a hydrophobic surface, revealing major re -wiring of phosphorylation-based signaling cascades during appressorium development. Comparing phosphosite conservation across 41 fungal species reveals phosphorylation signatures specifically associated with biotrophic and hemibiotrophic fungal infection. We then used parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) to identify phosphoproteins regulated by the fungal Pmk1 MAPK that controls plant infection by M. oryzae . We define 32 substrates of Pmk1 and show that Pmk1dependent phosphorylation of regulator Vts1 is required for rice blast disease. Defining the phosphorylation landscape of infection therefore identifies potential therapeutic interventions for the control of plant diseases., This work was supported by grants to N.J.T. from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) BBS/E/J/000PR9797, a BBSRC grant to N.J.T. and F.L.H.M. (BB/V016342/1), and the BBSRC core capability grant to Bioimaging facilities at the JIC. N.C.-M. was supported by the John Innes Foundation, the Sainsbury Laboratory Rotation Programme PhD Studentship, and the Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnologias (CONAHCYT) . M.O.-R. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grant, PID2020-120188RJ-I00, financed by MICIN/AEI. M.O.R. is a recipient of the Ramon y Cajal grant RYC2021-032146-I, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/5011000110033, European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR, and the European Union (HORIZON-ERC2021-101076478) .r 5011000110033, European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR,and the Euro-pean Union (HORIZON-ERC2021-101076478).

Rice blast, the most destructive disease of cultivated rice world-wide, is caused by the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. To cause disease in plants, M. oryzae secretes a diverse range of effector proteins to suppress plant defense responses, modulate cellular processes, and support pathogen growth. Some effectors can be secreted by appressoria even before host penetration, while others accumulate in the apoplast, or enter living plant cells where they target specific plant subcellular compartments. During plant infection, the blast fungus induces the formation of a specialized plant structure known as the biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC), which appears to be crucial for effector delivery into plant cells. Here, we review recent advances in the cell biology of M. oryzae–host interactions and show how new breakthroughs in disease control have stemmed from an increased understanding of effector proteins of M. oryzae are deployed and delivered into plant cells to enable pathogen invasion and host susceptibility., This project was supported by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Hatch project #LAB9447, and Louisiana Board of Regents grant #LEQSF (2022-24)-RD-A-01 (to E.O-G and S.D.P). The research was also financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grant PID2020-120188RJ-I00 financed by MICIN/AEI/ to M.O.R. M.O.R is a recipient of Ramon y Cajal grant RYC2021-032146-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/5011000110033 and by ‘European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR’. N.J.T. is supported by the BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Grant in PlantHealth BBS/E/J/000PR9797 and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.