Selective autophagy limits ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ infection by ATG8 mediated targeting of a virulence effector

Abstract Autophagy, a cellular process involved in the degradation and recycling of cellular components, has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis and combating pathogen invasion. Here, we provide evidence that the overexpression of CsATG8c inhibits C Las proliferation in citrus. CsATG8c directly interacts with the C Las effector protein SDE4040, leading to its degradation via the autophagic pathway. The SDE4040 protein acts as a virulence effector, and transgenic citrus plants expressing SDE4040 promote C Las proliferation by suppressing the hypersensitive response (HR) of the host and reducing the levels of jasmonic acid (JA). Collectively, these results demonstrate that ATG8-mediated selective autophagy limits C Las infection by degrading a virulence effector protein, which provides the first evidence for the role of autophagy in combating C Las infection.