A polysaccharide deacetylase from Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is an important pathogenicity gene that suppresses plant immunity.

The cell wall of filamentous fungi, comprised of chitin, polysaccharide and glycoproteins, maintains the integrity of hyphae and protect them from defence responses by potential host plants. Here, we report that one polysaccharide deacetylase ofPuccinia striiformisf. sp.tritici(Pst), Pst_13661, suppresses Bax-induced cell death in plants and Pst_13661 is highly induced during early stages of the interaction between wheat andPst. Importantly, the transgenic wheat expressing the RNA interference (RNAi) construct ofPst_13661exhibits high resistance to majorPstepidemic races CYR31, CYR32 and CYR33 by inhibiting growth and development ofPst, indicating that Pst_13661 is an available pathogenicity factor and is a potential target for generating broad-spectrum resistance breeding material of wheat. It forms a homo-polymer and has high affinity for chitin and germ tubes ofPstcompared with the control. Besides, Pst_13661 suppresses chitin-induced plant defence in plants. Hence, we infer that Pst_13661 may modify the fungal cell wall to prevent recognition by apoplastic surveillance systems in plants. This study opens new approaches for developing durable disease-resistant germplasm by disturbing the growth and development of fungi and develops novel strategies to control crop diseases.