The Arabidopsis thaliana papain-like cysteine protease RD21 interacts with a root-knot nematode effector protein

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodisecretes effector proteins into the cells of host plants to manipulate plant-derived processes in order to achieve successful parasitism. Mc1194 is a M. chitwoodieffector that is highly expressed in pre-parasitic second-stage juvenile nematodes. Yeast two-hybrid assays revealed Mc1194 specifically interacts with a papain-like cysteine protease (PLCP), RD21A in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mc1194 interacts with both the protease and granulin domains of RD21A. PLCPs are targeted by effectors secreted by bacterial, fungal and oomycete pathogens and the hypersusceptibility of rd21-1mutants to M. chitwoodiindicates RD21A plays a role in plant-parasitic nematode infection.