Cargo sorting into, and the interactive effects of, membrane vesicles:
knowledge pool and gaps in fungal phytopathogens
Abstract
Organisms from all kingdoms of life release membrane vesicles, which are
tiny and spherical structures made of a lipid bilayer. Membrane vesicles
carry out a number of functions, such as forming new cell membranes,
removing waste products from the cell, and transporting lipids and other
substances from parent to recipient cells. The payloads often contained
in the vesicles are sorted via the endosomal sorting complex required
for transport (ESCRT) pathway in a stepwise manner. Alterations to this
endomembrane system reduces formation of vesicles and aberrant endosomal
compartments. Furthermore, in pathogenic fungi, the deletion of ESCRT
genes negatively effects virulence and growth, suggesting the ESCRT
pathway has links to disease. However, only a few fungal species have to
date been evaluated for the ESCRT pathway. In this review, we evaluate
recent developments in the ESCRT pathway of fungi that infect plant
hosts and its role in pathogenesis. This will provide an overview of
EV-mediated cell-cell communication during host-pathogen interactions.