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Fig. 6 | BMC Genomics

Fig. 6

From: Diffusible signal factor (DSF)-mediated quorum sensing modulates expression of diverse traits in Xanthomonas citri and responses of citrus plants to promote disease

Fig. 6

Hypothetical model of the modulation of citrus - Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri interactions by the DSF/Rpf- mediated quorum sensing (QS) during early stages of infection. Representative proteins and metabolic processes with important roles in plant-pathogen interactions are shown. Plant and bacterial molecules are depicted in light blue and red, respectively. DSF/Rpf- mediated QS modulates expression of diverse bacterial traits including adhesion, nutrition acquisition, stress tolerance (catalase and trehalose), signal transduction, transcription, and virulence factors, which collectively promote bacterial adaptation to the host environment to favor infection. The transcriptional alterations of citrus in response to DSF-mediated X. citri subsp. citri infection are characterized by the downregulation of photosynthesis, plant immune receptor-like proteins or receptor-like kinases including NBS-LRRs, NB-ARC resistance proteins, MYB and WRKY transcription factors, and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Changes of phytohormone metabolism and signaling were also triggered by DSF-mediated X. citri subsp. citri infection, probably leading to increased accumulation of auxin, ethylene and jasmonic acid (JA), and decreased accumulation of brassinosteroid (BR), cytokinin and salicylic acid (SA), which may benefit the pathogen. Solid arrows with plus symbols indicate positive regulation and dashed arrows with minus symbols indicate negative regulation. Solid lines indicate information flow

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