The activity of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C is required for vegetative growth and cell wall regeneration in Coprinopsis cinerea

Phospholipase C: Diverse functions in plant biotic stress resistance and fungal pathogenicity

Phospholipase C (PLC) generates various second messenger molecules and mediates phospholipid hydrolysis. In recent years, the important roles of plant and fungal PLC in disease resistance and pathogenicity, respectively, have been determined. However, the roles of PLC in plants and fungi are unintegrated and relevant literature is disorganized. This makes it difficult for researchers to implement PLC-based strategies to improve disease resistance in plants. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the structure, classification, and phylogeny of the PLCs involved in plant biotic stress resistance and fungal pathogenicity. PLCs can be divided into two groups, nonspecific PLC (NPC) and phosphatidylinositol-specific PLC (PI-PLC), which present marked differences in phylogenetic evolution. The products of PLC genes in fungi play significant roles in physiological activity and pathogenesis, whereas those encoded by plant PLC genes mediate the immune response to fungi. This review provides a perspective for the future control of plant fungal diseases.

The PH Domain and C-Terminal polyD Motif of Phafin2 Exhibit a Unique Concurrence in Animals

Phafin2, a member of the Phafin family of proteins, contributes to a plethora of cellular activities including autophagy, endosomal cargo transportation, and macropinocytosis. The PH and FYVE domains of Phafin2 play key roles in membrane binding, whereas the C-terminal poly aspartic acid (polyD) motif specifically autoinhibits the PH domain binding to the membrane phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P). Since the Phafin2 FYVE domain also binds PtdIns3P, the role of the polyD motif remains unclear. In this study, bioinformatics tools and resources were employed to determine the concurrence of the PH-FYVE module with the polyD motif among Phafin2 and PH-, FYVE-, or polyD-containing proteins from bacteria to humans. FYVE was found to be an ancient domain of Phafin2 and is related to proteins that are present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Interestingly, the polyD motif only evolved in Phafin2 and PH- or both PH-FYVE-containing proteins in animals. PolyD motifs are absent in PH domain-free FYVE-containing proteins, which usually display cellular trafficking or autophagic functions. Moreover, the prediction of the Phafin2-interacting network indicates that Phafin2 primarily cross-talks with proteins involved in autophagy, protein trafficking, and neuronal function. Taken together, the concurrence of the polyD motif with the PH domain may be associated with complex cellular functions that evolved specifically in animals.

Phospholipase C From Alternaria alternata Is Induced by Physiochemical Cues on the Pear Fruit Surface That Dictate Infection Structure Differentiation and Pathogenicity

To investigate the mechanisms of phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling in Alternaria alternata, the regulatory roles of PLC were elucidated using neomycin, a specific inhibitor of PLC activity. Three isotypes of PLC designated AaPLC1, AaPLC2, and AaPLC3 were identified in A. alternata through genome sequencing. qRT-PCR analysis showed that fruit wax extracts significantly upregulated the expression of all three PLC genes in vitro. Pharmacological experiments showed that neomycin treatment led to a dose-dependent reduction in spore germination and appressorium formation in A. alternata. Appressorium formation was stimulated on hydrophobic and pear wax-coated surfaces but was significantly inhibited by neomycin treatment. The appressorium formation rates of neomycin treated A. alternata on hydrophobic and wax-coated surfaces decreased by 86.6 and 47.4%, respectively. After 4 h of treatment, exogenous CaCl₂ could partially reverse the effects of neomycin treatment. Neomycin also affected mycotoxin production in alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), altenuene (ALT), and tentoxin (TEN), with exogenous Ca²⁺ partially reversing these effects. These results suggest that PLC is required for the growth, infection structure differentiation, and secondary metabolism of A. alternata in response to physiochemical signals on the pear fruit surface.

VdPLP, A Patatin-Like Phospholipase in Verticillium dahliae, Is Involved in Cell Wall Integrity and Required for Pathogenicity

The soil-borne ascomycete fungus Verticillium dahliae causes vascular wilt disease and can seriously diminish the yield and quality of important crops. Functional analysis of growth- and pathogenicity-related genes is essential for revealing the pathogenic molecular mechanism of V. dahliae. Phospholipase is an important virulence factor in fungi that hydrolyzes phospholipids into fatty acid and other lipophilic substances and is involved in hyphal development. Thus far, only a few V. dahliae phospholipases have been identified, and their involvement in V. dahliae development and pathogenicity remains unknown. In this study, the function of the patatin-like phospholipase gene in V. dahliae (VdPLP, VDAG_00942) is characterized by generating gene knockout and complementary mutants. Vegetative growth and conidiation of VdPLP deletion mutants (ΔVdPLP) were significantly reduced compared with wild type and complementary strains, but more microsclerotia formed. The ΔVdPLP mutants were very sensitive to the cell-wall-perturbing agents: calcofluor white (CFW) and Congo red (CR). The transcriptional level of genes related to the cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway and chitin synthesis were downregulated, suggesting that VdPLP has a pivotal role in the CWI pathway and chitin synthesis in V. dahliae. ΔVdPLP strains were distinctly impaired in in their virulence and ability to colonize Nicotiana benthamiana roots. Our results demonstrate that VdPLP regulates hyphal growth and conidial production and is involved in stabilizing the cell wall, thus mediating the pathogenicity of V. dahliae.

The phenotype of a phospholipase C (plc-1) mutant in a filamentous fungus, Neurospora crassa

In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, phospholipase C may play a role in hyphal extension at the growing tips as part of a growth-sensing mechanism that activates calcium release from internal stores to mediate continued expansion of the hyphal tip. One candidate for a tip-localized phospholipase C is PLC-1. We characterized morphology and growth characteristics of a knockout mutant (KO plc-1) and a RIP mutated strain (RIP plc-1) (missense mutations and a nonsense mutation render the gene product non-functional). Growth and hyphal cytology of wildtype and KO plc-1 were similar, but the RIP plc-1 mutant grew slower and exhibited abnormal membrane structures at the hyphal tip, imaged using the fluorescence dye FM4-64. To test for causes of the slower growth of the RIP plc-1 mutant, we examined its physiological poise compared to wildtype and the KO plc-1 mutant. The electrical properties of all three strains and the electrogenic contribution of the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase (identified by cyanide inhibition) were the same. Responses to high osmolarity were also similar. However, the RIP plc-1 mutant had a significantly lower turgor, a possible cause of its slower growth. While growth of all three strains was inhibited by the phospholipase C inhibitor 3-nitrocoumarin, the RIP plc-1 mutant did not exhibit hyphal bursting after addition of the inhibitor, observed in both wildtype and the KO plc-1 mutant. Although the plc-1 gene is not obligatory for tip growth, the phenotype of the RIP plc-1 mutant - abnormal tip cytology, lower turgor and resistance to inhibitor-induced hyphal bursting - suggest it does play a role in tip growth. The expression of a dysfunctional plc-1 gene may cause a shift to alternative mechanism(s) of growth sensing in hyphal extension.