The Phytophthora sojae Effector PsAvh208 Hijacks Host Aquaporin Tetramerization to Establish a Water Soaked Infection Niche

The Phytophthora sojae Effector PsAvh208 Hijacks Host Aquaporin Tetramerization to Establish a Water Soaked Infection Niche | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Phytophthora sojae Effector PsAvh208 Hijacks Host Aquaporin Tetramerization to Establish a Water Soaked Infection Niche Qunqing Wang, Xiaoyuan Hou, Yujing Sun, Xinwei Tan, Hengjing Li, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8120386/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A fundamental strategy for microbial pathogens is the manipulation of the host environment to create conditions favorable for colonization. A hallmark of such manipulation in plant diseases is the “water-soaked” lesion, an aqueous apoplastic niche. While bacterial effectors that induce water soaking are known, the mechanisms employed by eukaryotic microbial pathogens, such as oomycetes, remain entirely elusive. Here, we uncover a novel virulence strategy whereby a pathogen effector directly targets the quaternary structure of a plant aquaporin to dysregulate water homeostasis. We demonstrate that the apoplastic effector PsAvh208 of Phytophthora sojae interacts with the soybean aquaporin GmPIP2;6, a plasma membrane intrinsic protein that facilitates water transport. This interaction specifically disrupts the homomeric assembly of GmPIP2;6 into functional tetramers, thereby impairing water conductance and leading to apoplastic water accumulation. Crucially, PsAvh208-mediated suppression of tetramerization does not interfere with the intrinsic immune-suppressive function of GmPIP2;6 monomers. The resulting water-soaked niche promotes infection by both P. sojae and the co-infiltrated bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, indicating its broad permissiveness. Our findings reveal the manipulation of aquaporin oligomerization as a previously unknown virulence mechanism, positioning water homeostasis as a critical battleground in plant-microbe interactions. This work provides a conceptual advance in understanding how pathogens rewire host physiology to establish a favorable microenvironment for disease. Biological sciences/Plant sciences/Plant immunity/Effectors in plant pathology Biological sciences/Plant sciences/Plant immunity/Microbe Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation1.docx Supplementary Figures Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8120386","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":546202384,"identity":"24c4a9be-4350-427f-989e-f73e2a09e673","order_by":0,"name":"Qunqing 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A hallmark of such manipulation in plant diseases is the “water-soaked” lesion, an aqueous apoplastic niche. While bacterial effectors that induce water soaking are known, the mechanisms employed by eukaryotic microbial pathogens, such as oomycetes, remain entirely elusive. Here, we uncover a novel virulence strategy whereby a pathogen effector directly targets the quaternary structure of a plant aquaporin to dysregulate water homeostasis. We demonstrate that the apoplastic effector PsAvh208 of Phytophthora sojae interacts with the soybean aquaporin GmPIP2;6, a plasma membrane intrinsic protein that facilitates water transport. This interaction specifically disrupts the homomeric assembly of GmPIP2;6 into functional tetramers, thereby impairing water conductance and leading to apoplastic water accumulation. Crucially, PsAvh208-mediated suppression of tetramerization does not interfere with the intrinsic immune-suppressive function of GmPIP2;6 monomers. The resulting water-soaked niche promotes infection by both P. sojae and the co-infiltrated bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, indicating its broad permissiveness. Our findings reveal the manipulation of aquaporin oligomerization as a previously unknown virulence mechanism, positioning water homeostasis as a critical battleground in plant-microbe interactions. 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