Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40937488›Full record

ArticlePlant biotechnology journal2026

A Fungal Cysteine-Rich Protein SsSCP Activates Immune Responses and Confers Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance in Tomato.

Liyuan Zhang, Yuan Wang, Yuhang Liu, Jinwen Yang, Kaihao Zhang, Chengzhang Du, Jiajing Xiao, Ling Qing, Xinhua Sun

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Plant biotechnology journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Liyuan ZhangChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Yuan WangShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Agri-Seeds, Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Yuhang LiuChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Jinwen YangChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Kaihao ZhangChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Chengzhang DuKey Laboratory of Evaluation and Utilization for Special Crops Germplasm Resource in the Southwest Mountains, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Co-Construction by the Ministry and Province), Chongqing, China.
Jiajing XiaoCenter for Agroforestry Mega Data Science, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
Ling QingChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Xinhua SunChongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8687-2528

Funding

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities SWU-KR22007Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities SWU-XDJH202318National Key Research and Development Program of China 2024YFF1001100Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing Municipality CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0032
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plant immune systems recognise pathogen-derived molecular patterns to activate defence responses, yet the mechanisms underlying fungal pattern recognition in crops remain largely unclear. Here, we characterise the cysteine-rich secretory protein SsSCP from the broad-host-range fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum as a potent elicitor of immune responses in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Using an optimised Escherichia coli expression system, we successfully produced bioactive SsSCP and demonstrated its ability to induce hallmark immune responses, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) bursts and extensive transcriptional reprogramming. Time-course transcriptomic analysis after SsSCP treatment revealed the rapid activation of defence pathways coupled with suppression of photosynthetic processes. While tomato lacks orthologs of the Arabidopsis SsSCP receptor AtRLP30, we identified a candidate receptor that may mediate SsSCP recognition in tomato. SsSCP activates immune responses independent of the EDS1-PAD4 module in Nicotiana benthamiana. Remarkably, transgenic expression of AtRLP30 in tomato conferred resistance against both bacterial (Pseudomonas syringae) and fungal (S. sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea) pathogens without compromising plant growth. Exogenous SsSCP application similarly enhanced disease resistance, with protection levels matching those of AtRLP30-expressing lines. Our findings reveal both conserved and species-specific aspects of SsSCP recognition while establishing its potential as a sustainable crop protection strategy. This research advances our understanding of fungal pattern recognition in crops and provides new tools for plant immunity research and disease control.

Indexed as

AscomycotaDisease ResistanceFungal ProteinsPlant DiseasesPlant ImmunitySolanum lycopersicumBotrytisGene Expression Regulation, PlantNicotianaPlant ProteinsPlants, Genetically ModifiedPseudomonas syringaeFungal ProteinsPlant Proteinsdisease resistancePAMP‐triggered immunitySclerotinia sclerotiorumtomatotranscriptomics

Identifiers

PMID40937488
PMCPMC12906804

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.