1
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Shambhavi S, Mondal S, Chakraborty A, Shukla N, Panda BK, Kumar S, Kinatukara P, Pal B, Kamat SS, Sankaranarayanan R. Emergence of Dip2-mediated specific DAG-based PKC signalling axis in eukaryotes. eLife 2025; 14:RP104011. [PMID: 40327034 PMCID: PMC12055004 DOI: 10.7554/elife.104011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2025] Open
Abstract
Diacylglycerols (DAGs) are used for metabolic purposes and are tightly regulated secondary lipid messengers in eukaryotes. DAG subspecies with different fatty-acyl chains are proposed to be involved in the activation of distinct PKC isoforms, resulting in diverse physiological outcomes. However, the molecular players and the regulatory origin for fine-tuning the PKC pathway are unknown. Here, we show that Dip2, a conserved DAG regulator across Fungi and Animalia, has emerged as a modulator of PKC signalling in yeast. Dip2 maintains the level of a specific DAG subpopulation, required for the activation of PKC-mediated cell wall integrity pathway. Interestingly, the canonical DAG-metabolism pathways, being promiscuous, are decoupled from PKC signalling. We demonstrate that these DAG subspecies are sourced from a phosphatidylinositol pool generated by the acyl-chain remodelling pathway. Furthermore, we provide insights into the intimate coevolutionary relationship between the regulator (Dip2) and the effector (PKC) of DAG-based signalling. Hence, our study underscores the establishment of Dip2-PKC axis about 1.2 billion years ago in Opisthokonta, which marks the rooting of the first specific DAG-based signalling module of eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sakshi Shambhavi
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | - Sudipta Mondal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
| | - Arnab Chakraborty
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)PuneIndia
| | - Nikita Shukla
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
| | | | - Santhosh Kumar
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
| | | | - Biswajit Pal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
| | - Siddhesh S Kamat
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)PuneIndia
| | - Rajan Sankaranarayanan
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular BiologyHyderabadIndia
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)GhaziabadIndia
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2
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Mondal S, Pal B, Sankaranarayanan R. Mechanistic understanding of bacterial FAALs and the role of their homologs in eukaryotes. Proteins 2025; 93:26-37. [PMID: 37615273 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Fatty acids are used in fundamental cellular processes, such as membrane biogenesis, energy generation, post-translational modification of proteins, and so forth. These processes require the activation of fatty acids by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), followed by condensation with coenzyme-A (CoA), catalyzed by the omnipresent enzyme called Fatty acyl-CoA ligases (FACLs). However, Fatty acyl-AMP ligases (FAALs), the structural homologs of FACLs, operate in an unprecedented CoA-independent manner. FAALs transfer fatty acids to the acyl carrier protein (ACP) domain of polyketide synthases (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) for the biosynthesis of various antibiotics, lipopeptides, virulent complex lipids, and so forth in bacteria. Recent structural and biochemical insights from our group provide a detailed understanding of the mode of CoA rejection and ACP acceptance by FAALs. In this review, we have discussed advances in the mechanistic, evolutionary, and functional understanding of FAALs and FAAL-like domains across life forms. Here, we are proposing a "Five-tier" mechanistic model to explain the specificity of FAALs. We further demonstrate how FAAL-like domains have been repurposed into a new family of proteins in eukaryotes with a novel function in lipid metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudipta Mondal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Biswajit Pal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Rajan Sankaranarayanan
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-CCMB Campus, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
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3
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Mondal S, Pal B, Sankaranarayanan R. Diacylglycerol metabolism and homeostasis in fungal physiology. FEMS Yeast Res 2024; 24:foae036. [PMID: 39611318 PMCID: PMC11631473 DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foae036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 11/05/2024] [Accepted: 11/26/2024] [Indexed: 11/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a relatively simple and primitive form of lipid, which does not possess a phospholipid headgroup. Being a central metabolite of the lipid metabolism network, DAGs are omnipresent in all life forms. While the role of DAG has been established in membrane and storage lipid biogenesis, it can impart crucial physiological functions including membrane shapeshifting, regulation of membrane protein activity, and transduction of cellular signalling as a lipid-based secondary messenger. Besides, the chemical diversity of DAGs, due to fatty acyl chain composition, has been proposed to be the basis of its functional diversity. Therefore, cells must regulate DAG level at a spatio-temporal scale for homeostasis and adaptation. The vast network of eukaryotic lipid metabolism has been unravelled majorly by studying yeast models. Here, we review the current understanding and the emerging concepts in metabolic and functional aspects of DAG regulation in yeast. The implications can be extended to understand pathogenic fungi and mammalian counterparts as well as disease aetiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudipta Mondal
- CSIR – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 50007, India
| | - Biswajit Pal
- CSIR – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 50007, India
| | - Rajan Sankaranarayanan
- CSIR – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 50007, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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4
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Khatri S, Chaudhary P, Shivay YS, Sharma S. Role of Fungi in Imparting General Disease Suppressiveness in Soil from Organic Field. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2023; 86:2047-2059. [PMID: 37010558 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-023-02211-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Soil microbial communities are key players responsible for imparting suppressive potential to the soil against soil-borne phytopathogens. Fungi have an immense potential to inhibit soil-borne phytopathogens, but the fungal counterpart has been less explored in this context. We assessed the composition of fungal communities in soil under long-term organic and conventional farming practice, and control soil. The disease-suppressive potential of organic field was already established. A comparative analysis of the disease suppressiveness contributed by the fungal component of soil from conventional and organic farms was assessed using dual culture assays. The quantification of biocontrol markers and total fungi was done; the characterization of fungal community was carried out using ITS-based amplicon sequencing. Soil from organic field exhibited higher disease-suppressive potential than that from conventional farming, against the pathogens selected for the study. Higher levels of hydrolytic enzymes such as chitinase and cellulase, and siderophore production were observed in soil from the organic field compared to the conventional field. Differences in community composition were observed under conventional and organic farming, with soil from organic field exhibiting specific enrichment of key biocontrol fungal genera. The fungal alpha diversity was lower in soil from the organic field compared to the conventional field. Our results highlight the role of fungi in contributing to general disease-suppressive ability of the soil against phytopathogens. The identification of fungal taxa specifically associated with organic farming can aid in understanding the mechanism of disease suppression under such a practice, and can be exploited to induce general disease suppressiveness in otherwise conducive soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivani Khatri
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Priya Chaudhary
- UQ-IITD Academy of Research, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India
| | - Yashbir S Shivay
- Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Shilpi Sharma
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India.
- UQ-IITD Academy of Research, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India.
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5
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Xiao J, Yang K, Liang Z, Zhang Y, Wei L. BCB1, a member of the acyl-coenzyme A synthetase family, regulates the morphogenesis and pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea. Arch Microbiol 2023; 205:206. [PMID: 37160639 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03540-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Botrytis cinerea is a non-host-specific phytopathogenic fungus capable of infecting numerous cash crops. Here, we analyzed the functions of the Bcb1 gene in B. cinerea, which encodes a membrane protein belonging to the acyl-coenzyme A synthase family. Compared to the wild type, Bcb1-deletion mutants exhibited obvious morphological abnormalities, including slower vegetative growth and reduced melanin production. The absence of Bcb1 causes B. cinerea to form only small and incompletely developed infection cushions and fail to produce spores. The Bcb1 mutants displayed hypersensitivity to the membrane stressor SDS, the cell wall stressor Congo red, and the oxidative stressor H2O2 and increased resistance to intracellular osmotic stress caused by KCl compared to the wild-type strain. However, there were no differences in tolerance to extracellular osmotic stress caused by NaCl. The deletion of Bcb1 also caused a reduction in pathogenicity. The qRT‒PCR results showed that the genes Bcpks12 and Bcpks13, which are related to melanin biosynthesis, and Bcpg2, BcBOT2, and cutA, which are related to virulence, were downregulated in ∆Bcb1. These data suggest that BCB1 is important for conidial morphogenesis, and pathogenesis in B. cinerea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiling Xiao
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pesticide Biology and Precise Use Technology, Hunan Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute, Changsha, 410125, People's Republic of China
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410125, China
| | - Ke Yang
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pesticide Biology and Precise Use Technology, Hunan Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute, Changsha, 410125, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhihuai Liang
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pesticide Biology and Precise Use Technology, Hunan Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute, Changsha, 410125, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Indica Rice Genetics and Breeding in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River Valley, Hunan Rice Research Institute, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Lin Wei
- Hunan Plant Protection Institute, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China
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6
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Noriler S, Navarro-Muñoz JC, Glienke C, Collemare J. Evolutionary relationships of adenylation domains in fungi. Genomics 2022; 114:110525. [PMID: 36423773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) and NRPS-like enzymes are abundant in microbes as they are involved in the production of primary and secondary metabolites. In contrast to the well-studied NRPSs, known to produce non-ribosomal peptides, NRPS-like enzymes exhibit more diverse activities and their evolutionary relationships are unclear. Here, we present the first in-depth phylogenetic analysis of fungal NRPS-like A domains from functionally characterized pathways, and their relationships to characterized A domains found in fungal NRPSs. This study clearly differentiated amino acid reductases, including NRPSs, from CoA/AMP ligases, which could be divided into 10 distinct phylogenetic clades that reflect their conserved domain organization, substrate specificity and enzymatic activity. In particular, evolutionary relationships of adenylate forming reductases could be refined and explained the substrate specificity difference. Consistent with their phylogeny, the deduced amino acid code of A domains differentiated amino acid reductases from other enzymes. However, a diagnostic code was found for α-keto acid reductases and clade 7 CoA/AMP ligases only. Comparative genomics of loci containing these enzymes revealed that they can be independently recruited as tailoring genes in diverse secondary metabolite pathways. Based on these results, we propose a refined and clear phylogeny-based classification of A domain-containing enzymes, which will provide a robust framework for future functional analyses and engineering of these enzymes to produce new bioactive molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandriele Noriler
- Postgraduate Program of Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Jorge C Navarro-Muñoz
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584, CT, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Chirlei Glienke
- Postgraduate Program of Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Postgraduate Program of Genetics, Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Parana, Av. Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, 210, CEP: 81531-970, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Jérôme Collemare
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584, CT, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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7
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Vaccines to Prevent Coccidioidomycosis: A Gene-Deletion Mutant of Coccidioides Posadasii as a Viable Candidate for Human Trials. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8080838. [PMID: 36012826 PMCID: PMC9410110 DOI: 10.3390/jof8080838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coccidioidomycosis is an endemic fungal infection that is reported in up to 20,000 persons per year and has an economic impact close to $1.5 billion. Natural infection virtually always confers protection from future exposure, and this suggests that a preventative vaccine strategy is likely to succeed. We here review progress toward that objective. There has been ongoing research to discover a coccidioidal vaccine over the past seven decades, including one phase III clinical trial, but for reasons of either efficacy or feasibility, a safe and effective vaccine has not yet been developed. This review first summarizes the past research to develop a coccidioidal vaccine. It then details the evidence that supports a live, gene-deletion vaccine candidate as suitable for further development as both a veterinary and a human clinical product. Finally, a plausible vaccine development plan is described which would be applicable to this vaccine candidate and also useful to other future candidates. The public health and economic impact of coccidioidomycosis fully justifies a public private partnership for vaccine development, and the development of a vaccine for this orphan disease will likely require some degree of public funding.
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8
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Kennedy AH, Schoch CL, Marrero G, Brover V, Robbertse B. Publicly Available and Validated DNA Reference Sequences Are Critical to Fungal Identification and Global Plant Protection Efforts: A Use-Case in Colletotrichum. PLANT DISEASE 2022; 106:1573-1596. [PMID: 35538602 PMCID: PMC9196201 DOI: 10.1094/pdis-09-21-2083-sr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Publicly available and validated DNA reference sequences useful for phylogeny estimation and identification of fungal pathogens are an increasingly important resource in the efforts of plant protection organizations to facilitate safe international trade of agricultural commodities. Colletotrichum species are among the most frequently encountered and regulated plant pathogens at U.S. ports-of-entry. The RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) project at NCBI (BioProject no. PRJNA177353) contains a database of curated fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences that interact extensively with NCBI Taxonomy, resulting in verified name-strain-sequence type associations for >12,000 species. We present a publicly available dataset of verified and curated name-type strain-sequence associations for all available Colletotrichum species. This includes an updated GenBank Taxonomy for 238 species associated with up to 11 protein coding loci and an updated RTL ITS dataset for 226 species. We demonstrate that several marker loci are well suited for phylogenetic inference and identification. We improve understanding of phylogenetic relationships among verified species, verify or improve phylogenetic circumscriptions of 14 species complexes, and reveal that determining relationships among these major clades will require additional data. We present detailed comparisons between phylogenetic and similarity-based approaches to species identification, revealing complex patterns among single marker loci that often lead to misidentification when based on single-locus similarity approaches. We also demonstrate that species-level identification is elusive for a subset of samples regardless of analytical approach, which may be explained by novel species diversity in our dataset and incomplete lineage sorting and lack of accumulated synapomorphies at these loci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron H. Kennedy
- National Identification Services, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - Conrad L. Schoch
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894
| | - Glorimar Marrero
- National Identification Services, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - Vyacheslav Brover
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894
| | - Barbara Robbertse
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894
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9
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Senanayake IC, Pem D, Rathnayaka AR, Wijesinghe SN, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe DN, Phookamsak R, Kularathnage ND, Gomdola D, Harishchandra D, Dissanayake LS, Xiang MM, Ekanayaka AH, McKenzie EHC, Hyde KD, Zhang HX, Xie N. Predicting global numbers of teleomorphic ascomycetes. FUNGAL DIVERS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13225-022-00498-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
AbstractSexual reproduction is the basic way to form high genetic diversity and it is beneficial in evolution and speciation of fungi. The global diversity of teleomorphic species in Ascomycota has not been estimated. This paper estimates the species number for sexual ascomycetes based on five different estimation approaches, viz. by numbers of described fungi, by fungus:substrate ratio, by ecological distribution, by meta-DNA barcoding or culture-independent studies and by previous estimates of species in Ascomycota. The assumptions were made with the currently most accepted, “2.2–3.8 million” species estimate and results of previous studies concluding that 90% of the described ascomycetes reproduce sexually. The Catalogue of Life, Species Fungorum and published research were used for data procurement. The average value of teleomorphic species in Ascomycota from all methods is 1.86 million, ranging from 1.37 to 2.56 million. However, only around 83,000 teleomorphic species have been described in Ascomycota and deposited in data repositories. The ratio between described teleomorphic ascomycetes to predicted teleomorphic ascomycetes is 1:22. Therefore, where are the undiscovered teleomorphic ascomycetes? The undescribed species are no doubt to be found in biodiversity hot spots, poorly-studied areas and species complexes. Other poorly studied niches include extremophiles, lichenicolous fungi, human pathogens, marine fungi, and fungicolous fungi. Undescribed species are present in unexamined collections in specimen repositories or incompletely described earlier species. Nomenclatural issues, such as the use of separate names for teleomorph and anamorphs, synonyms, conspecific names, illegitimate and invalid names also affect the number of described species. Interspecies introgression results in new species, while species numbers are reduced by extinctions.
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10
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Patil GS, Kinatukara P, Mondal S, Shambhavi S, Patel KD, Pramanik S, Dubey N, Narasimhan S, Madduri MK, Pal B, Gokhale RS, Sankaranarayanan R. A universal pocket in fatty acyl-AMP ligases ensures redirection of fatty acid pool away from coenzyme A-based activation. eLife 2021; 10:70067. [PMID: 34490847 PMCID: PMC8460268 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Fatty acyl-AMP ligases (FAALs) channelize fatty acids towards biosynthesis of virulent lipids in mycobacteria and other pharmaceutically or ecologically important polyketides and lipopeptides in other microbes. They do so by bypassing the ubiquitous coenzyme A-dependent activation and rely on the acyl carrier protein-tethered 4′-phosphopantetheine (holo-ACP). The molecular basis of how FAALs strictly reject chemically identical and abundant acceptors like coenzyme A (CoA) and accept holo-ACP unlike other members of the ANL superfamily remains elusive. We show that FAALs have plugged the promiscuous canonical CoA-binding pockets and utilize highly selective alternative binding sites. These alternative pockets can distinguish adenosine 3′,5′-bisphosphate-containing CoA from holo-ACP and thus FAALs can distinguish between CoA and holo-ACP. These exclusive features helped identify the omnipresence of FAAL-like proteins and their emergence in plants, fungi, and animals with unconventional domain organizations. The universal distribution of FAALs suggests that they are parallelly evolved with FACLs for ensuring a CoA-independent activation and redirection of fatty acids towards lipidic metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gajanan S Patil
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | | | - Sudipta Mondal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | - Sakshi Shambhavi
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Ketan D Patel
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | - Surabhi Pramanik
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | - Noopur Dubey
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | | | | | - Biswajit Pal
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
| | | | - Rajan Sankaranarayanan
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
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11
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Van Dyke MCC, Teixeira MM, Barker BM. Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: the hidden diversity of dimorphic fungal pathogens. Curr Opin Microbiol 2019; 52:55-63. [PMID: 31181385 PMCID: PMC11227906 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Dimorphic fungal pathogens are a significant cause of human disease worldwide. Notably, the dimorphic fungal pathogens within the order Onygenales are considered primary pathogens, causing disease in healthy hosts. Current changes in taxonomy are underway due to advances in molecular phylogenetics, population genetics, and new emerging dimorphic fungal pathogens causing human disease. In this review, we highlight evolutionary relationships of dimorphic fungal pathogens that cause human disease within the order Onygenales and provide rationale to support increased investment in studies understanding the evolutionary relationships of these pathogens to improve rapid diagnostics, help identify mechanisms of antifungal resistance, understand adaptation to human host, and factors associated with virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcus M Teixeira
- Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States; Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil
| | - Bridget M Barker
- Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States.
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12
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Van Dyke MCC, Thompson GR, Galgiani JN, Barker BM. The Rise of Coccidioides: Forces Against the Dust Devil Unleashed. Front Immunol 2019; 10:2188. [PMID: 31572393 PMCID: PMC6749157 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) is a fungal disease caused by the inhalation of Coccidioides posadasii or C. immitis. This neglected disease occurs in the desert areas of the western United States, most notably in California and Arizona, where infections continue to rise. Clinically, coccidioidomycosis ranges from asymptomatic to severe pulmonary disease and can disseminate to the brain, skin, bones, and elsewhere. New estimates suggest as many as 350,000 new cases of coccidioidomycosis occur in the United States each year. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of a vaccine and new therapeutic drugs against Coccidioides infection. In this review, we discuss the battle against Coccidioides including the development of potential vaccines, the quest for new therapeutic drugs, and our current understanding of the protective host immune response to Coccidioides infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - George R Thompson
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - John N Galgiani
- Valley Fever Center for Excellence, Department of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Bridget M Barker
- Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
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13
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Lu S, Faris JD. Fusarium graminearum KP4-like proteins possess root growth-inhibiting activity against wheat and potentially contribute to fungal virulence in seedling rot. Fungal Genet Biol 2018; 123:1-13. [PMID: 30465882 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The virally encoded KP4 killer toxin protein was first identified from Ustilago maydis (Um), and its homologues are present in diverse fungi and in one species of moss. No KP4-like (KP4L) proteins have been functionally characterized. Here, we report the identification and functional analysis of four KP4L proteins from Fusarium graminearum (Fg), the primary causal pathogen of Fusarium head blight (FHB), which is also known to associate with seedling rot of wheat. The four FgKP4L proteins (FgKP4L-1, -2, -3 and -4) are encoded by small open reading frames (378-825 bp) located on chromosome 1 with the FgKP4L-1, -2 and -3 genes clustering together. Sequence analysis indicated that FgKP4L proteins have conserved domains predicted to form a three-dimensional alpha/beta-sandwich structure as first reported for UmKP4, with FgKP4L-4 featuring double Kp4 domains. Further analyses revealed that the FgKP4L genes are expressed in vitro under certain stress conditions, and all up-regulated during FHB and/or seedling rot development, the recombinant FgKP4L-2 protein does not induce cell death in wheat leaves or spikelets, but inhibits root growth of young seedlings, and the elimination of the FgKP4L-1/-2/-3 gene cluster from the fungal genome results in reduced virulence in seedling rot but not in FHB. Database searches revealed KP4L proteins from ∼80 fungal species with more than half from human/animal pathogens. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that UmKP4 and the moss KP4L proteins are closely related to those from a zygromycete and Aspergillus, respectively, implying cross-kingdom horizontal gene transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunwen Lu
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765, USA.
| | - Justin D Faris
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765, USA
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Duba A, Goriewa-Duba K, Wachowska U. A Review of the Interactions between Wheat and Wheat Pathogens: Zymoseptoria tritici, Fusarium spp. and Parastagonospora nodorum. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:E1138. [PMID: 29642627 PMCID: PMC5979484 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19041138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Revised: 03/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Zymoseptoria tritici is a hemibiotrophic pathogen which causes Septoria leaf blotch in wheat. The pathogenesis of the disease consists of a biotrophic phase and a necrotrophic phase. The pathogen infects the host plant by suppressing its immune response in the first stage of infection. Hemibiotrophic pathogens of the genus Fusarium cause Fusarium head blight, and the necrotrophic Parastagonosporanodorum is responsible for Septoria nodorum blotch in wheat. Cell wall-degrading enzymes in plants promote infections by necrotrophic and hemibiotrophic pathogens, and trichothecenes, secondary fungal metabolites, facilitate infections caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium. There are no sources of complete resistance to the above pathogens in wheat. Defense mechanisms in wheat are controlled by many genes encoding resistance traits. In the wheat genome, the characteristic features of loci responsible for resistance to pathogenic infections indicate that at least several dozen genes encode resistance to pathogens. The molecular interactions between wheat and Z. tritici, P. nodorum and Fusarium spp. pathogens have been insufficiently investigated. Most studies focus on the mechanisms by which the hemibiotrophic Z. tritici suppresses immune responses in plants and the role of mycotoxins and effector proteins in infections caused by P. nodorum and Fusarium spp. fungi. Trichothecene glycosylation and effector proteins, which are involved in defense responses in wheat, have been described at the molecular level. Recent advances in molecular biology have produced interesting findings which should be further elucidated in studies of molecular interactions between wheat and fungal pathogens. The Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/ CRISPR associated (CRISPR/Cas) system can be used to introduce targeted mutations into the wheat genome and confer resistance to selected fungal diseases. Host-induced gene silencing and spray-induced gene silencing are also useful tools for analyzing wheat-pathogens interactions which can be used to develop new strategies for controlling fungal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Duba
- Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 17, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.
| | - Klaudia Goriewa-Duba
- Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Production, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, pl. Łódzki 3, 10-724 Olsztyn, Poland.
| | - Urszula Wachowska
- Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 17, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.
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Lu S, Edwards MC. Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis of PR-1-Like Proteins Identified from the Wheat Head Blight Fungus Fusarium graminearum. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2018; 108:510-520. [PMID: 29117786 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-08-17-0268-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The group 1 pathogenesis-related (PR-1) proteins originally identified from plants and their homologs are also found in other eukaryotic kingdoms. Studies on nonplant PR-1-like (PR-1L) proteins have been pursued widely in humans and animals but rarely in filamentous ascomycetes. Here, we report the characterization of four PR-1L proteins identified from the ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum, the primary cause of Fusarium head blight of wheat and barley (designated FgPR-1L). Molecular cloning revealed that the four FgPR-1L proteins are all encoded by small open reading frames (612 to 909 bp) that are often interrupted by introns, in contrast to plant PR-1 genes that lack introns. Sequence analysis indicated that all FgPR-1L proteins contain the PR-1-specific three-dimensional structure, and one of them features a C-terminal transmembrane (TM) domain that has not been reported for any stand-alone PR-1 proteins. Transcriptional analysis revealed that the four FgPR-1L genes are expressed in axenic cultures and in planta with different spatial or temporal expression patterns. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that fungal PR-1L proteins fall into three major groups, one of which harbors FgPR-1L-2-related TM-containing proteins from both phytopathogenic and human-pathogenic ascomycetes. Low-temperature sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and proteolytic assays indicated that the recombinant FgPR-1L-4 protein exists as a monomer and is resistant to subtilisin of the serine protease family. Functional analysis confirmed that deletion of the FgPR-1L-4 gene from the fungal genome results in significantly reduced virulence on susceptible wheat. This study provides the first example that the F. graminearum-wheat interaction involves a pathogen-derived PR-1L protein that affects fungal virulence on the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunwen Lu
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765
| | - Michael C Edwards
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765
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Hao L, Johnson K, Cursino L, Mowery P, Burr TJ. Characterization of the Xylella fastidiosa PD1311 gene mutant and its suppression of Pierce's disease on grapevines. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2017; 18:684-694. [PMID: 27388152 PMCID: PMC6638296 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2016] [Revised: 04/17/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Xylella fastidiosa causes Pierce's disease (PD) on grapevines, leading to significant economic losses in grape and wine production. To further our understanding of X. fastidiosa virulence on grapevines, we examined the PD1311 gene, which encodes a putative acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) synthetase, and is highly conserved across Xylella species. It was determined that PD1311 is required for virulence, as the deletion mutant, ΔPD1311, was unable to cause disease on grapevines. The ΔPD1311 strain was impaired in behaviours known to be associated with PD development, including motility, aggregation and biofilm formation. ΔPD1311 also expressed enhanced sensitivity to H2 O2 and polymyxin B, and showed reduced survival in grapevine sap, when compared with wild-type X. fastidiosa Temecula 1 (TM1). Following inoculation, ΔPD1311 could not be detected in grape shoots, which may be related to its altered growth and sensitivity phenotypes. Inoculation with ΔPD1311 2 weeks prior to TM1 prevented the development of PD in a significant fraction of vines and eliminated detectable levels of TM1. In contrast, vines inoculated simultaneously with TM1 and ΔPD1311 developed disease at the same level as TM1 alone. In these vines, TM1 populations were distributed similarly to populations in TM1-only inoculated plants. These findings suggest that, through an indirect mechanism, pretreatment of vines with ΔPD1311 suppresses pathogen population and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyun Hao
- Department of Plant Pathology and Plant–Microbe BiologyCornell University‐New York State Agricultural Experiment StationGenevaNY14456USA
| | - Kameka Johnson
- Department of Plant Pathology and Plant–Microbe BiologyCornell University‐New York State Agricultural Experiment StationGenevaNY14456USA
| | - Luciana Cursino
- Department of BiologyHobart and William Smith CollegesGenevaNY14456USA
- Present address:
Division of Natural SciencesKeuka CollegeKeuka ParkNY14478USA
| | - Patricia Mowery
- Department of BiologyHobart and William Smith CollegesGenevaNY14456USA
| | - Thomas J. Burr
- Department of Plant Pathology and Plant–Microbe BiologyCornell University‐New York State Agricultural Experiment StationGenevaNY14456USA
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17
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Suga H, Kageyama K, Shimizu M, Hyakumachi M. A Natural Mutation Involving both Pathogenicity and Perithecium Formation in the Fusarium graminearum Species Complex. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2016; 6:3883-3892. [PMID: 27678518 PMCID: PMC5144959 DOI: 10.1534/g3.116.033951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Members of the Fusarium graminearum species complex (Fg complex or FGSC) are the primary pathogens causing Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley worldwide. A natural pathogenicity mutant (strain 0225022) was found in a sample of the Fg complex collected in Japan. The mutant strain did not induce symptoms in wheat spikes beyond the point of inoculation, and did not form perithecia. No segregation of phenotypic deficiencies occurred in the progenies of a cross between the mutant and a fully pathogenic wild-type strain, which suggested that a single genetic locus controlled both traits. The locus was mapped to chromosome 2 by using sequence-tagged markers; and a deletion of ∼3 kb was detected in the mapped region of the mutant strain. The wild-type strain contains the FGSG_02810 gene, encoding a putative glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein, in this region. The contribution of FGSG_02810 to pathogenicity and perithecium formation was confirmed by complementation in the mutant strain using gene transfer, and by gene disruption in the wild-type strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruhisha Suga
- Life Science Research Center, Gifu University, 501-1193, Japan
| | - Koji Kageyama
- River Basin Research Center, Gifu University, 501-1193, Japan
| | - Masafumi Shimizu
- Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, 501-1193, Japan
| | - Misturo Hyakumachi
- Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, 501-1193, Japan
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18
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Penselin D, Münsterkötter M, Kirsten S, Felder M, Taudien S, Platzer M, Ashelford K, Paskiewicz KH, Harrison RJ, Hughes DJ, Wolf T, Shelest E, Graap J, Hoffmann J, Wenzel C, Wöltje N, King KM, Fitt BDL, Güldener U, Avrova A, Knogge W. Comparative genomics to explore phylogenetic relationship, cryptic sexual potential and host specificity of Rhynchosporium species on grasses. BMC Genomics 2016; 17:953. [PMID: 27875982 PMCID: PMC5118889 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-3299-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Rhynchosporium species complex consists of hemibiotrophic fungal pathogens specialized to different sweet grass species including the cereal crops barley and rye. A sexual stage has not been described, but several lines of evidence suggest the occurrence of sexual reproduction. Therefore, a comparative genomics approach was carried out to disclose the evolutionary relationship of the species and to identify genes demonstrating the potential for a sexual cycle. Furthermore, due to the evolutionary very young age of the five species currently known, this genus appears to be well-suited to address the question at the molecular level of how pathogenic fungi adapt to their hosts. RESULTS The genomes of the different Rhynchosporium species were sequenced, assembled and annotated using ab initio gene predictors trained on several fungal genomes as well as on Rhynchosporium expressed sequence tags. Structures of the rDNA regions and genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms provided a hypothesis for intra-genus evolution. Homology screening detected core meiotic genes along with most genes crucial for sexual recombination in ascomycete fungi. In addition, a large number of cell wall-degrading enzymes that is characteristic for hemibiotrophic and necrotrophic fungi infecting monocotyledonous hosts were found. Furthermore, the Rhynchosporium genomes carry a repertoire of genes coding for polyketide synthases and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Several of these genes are missing from the genome of the closest sequenced relative, the poplar pathogen Marssonina brunnea, and are possibly involved in adaptation to the grass hosts. Most importantly, six species-specific genes coding for protein effectors were identified in R. commune. Their deletion yielded mutants that grew more vigorously in planta than the wild type. CONCLUSION Both cryptic sexuality and secondary metabolites may have contributed to host adaptation. Most importantly, however, the growth-retarding activity of the species-specific effectors suggests that host adaptation of R. commune aims at extending the biotrophic stage at the expense of the necrotrophic stage of pathogenesis. Like other apoplastic fungi Rhynchosporium colonizes the intercellular matrix of host leaves relatively slowly without causing symptoms, reminiscent of the development of endophytic fungi. Rhynchosporium may therefore become an object for studying the mutualism-parasitism transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Penselin
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Martin Münsterkötter
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Susanne Kirsten
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Marius Felder
- Genomic Analysis, Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Stefan Taudien
- Genomic Analysis, Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Matthias Platzer
- Genomic Analysis, Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Kevin Ashelford
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | | | - David J. Hughes
- Applied Bioinformatics, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire UK
| | - Thomas Wolf
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Ekaterina Shelest
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Jenny Graap
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Jan Hoffmann
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Claudia Wenzel
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany ,Present address: Food Quality and Nutrition, Agroscope, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Wöltje
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
| | - Kevin M. King
- Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire UK
| | - Bruce D. L. Fitt
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire UK
| | - Ulrich Güldener
- Department of Genome-Oriented Bioinformatics, Technische Universität München, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany
| | - Anna Avrova
- Cell and Molecular Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, Scotland
| | - Wolfgang Knogge
- Department of Stress and Developmental Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany
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Narra HP, Shubitz LF, Mandel MA, Trinh HT, Griffin K, Buntzman AS, Frelinger JA, Galgiani JN, Orbach MJ. A Coccidioides posadasii CPS1 Deletion Mutant Is Avirulent and Protects Mice from Lethal Infection. Infect Immun 2016; 84:3007-16. [PMID: 27481239 PMCID: PMC5038059 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00633-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The CPS1 gene was identified as a virulence factor in the maize pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus Hypothesizing that the homologous gene in Coccidioides posadasii could be important for virulence, we created a Δcps1 deletion mutant which was unable to cause disease in three strains of mice (C57BL/6, BALB/c, or the severely immunodeficient NOD-scid,γc(null) [NSG]). Only a single colony was recovered from 1 of 60 C57BL/6 mice following intranasal infections of up to 4,400 spores. Following administration of very high doses (10,000 to 2.5 × 10(7) spores) to NSG and BALB/c mice, spherules were observed in lung sections at time points from day 3 to day 10 postinfection, but nearly all appeared degraded with infrequent endosporulation. Although the role of CPS1 in virulence is not understood, phenotypic alterations and transcription differences of at least 33 genes in the Δcps1 strain versus C. posadasii is consistent with both metabolic and regulatory functions for the gene. The in vitro phenotype of the Δcps1 strain showed slower growth of mycelia with delayed and lower spore production than C. posadasii, and in vitro spherules were smaller. Vaccination of C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice with live Δcps1 spores either intranasally, intraperitoneally, or subcutaneously resulted in over 95% survival with mean residual lung fungal burdens of <1,000 CFU from an otherwise lethal C. posadasii intranasal infection. Considering its apparently complete attenuation of virulence and the high degree of resistance to C. posadasii infection when used as a vaccine, the Δcps1 strain is a promising vaccine candidate for preventing coccidioidomycosis in humans or other animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hema P Narra
- School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Lisa F Shubitz
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - M Alejandra Mandel
- School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Hien T Trinh
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Kurt Griffin
- Department of Immunobiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Adam S Buntzman
- Department of Immunobiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Frelinger
- The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA Department of Immunobiology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - John N Galgiani
- The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA Department of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Marc J Orbach
- School of Plant Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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Castell-Miller CV, Gutierrez-Gonzalez JJ, Tu ZJ, Bushley KE, Hainaut M, Henrissat B, Samac DA. Genome Assembly of the Fungus Cochliobolus miyabeanus, and Transcriptome Analysis during Early Stages of Infection on American Wildrice (Zizania palustris L.). PLoS One 2016; 11:e0154122. [PMID: 27253872 PMCID: PMC4890743 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The fungus Cochliobolus miyabeanus causes severe leaf spot disease on rice (Oryza sativa) and two North American specialty crops, American wildrice (Zizania palustris) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Despite the importance of C. miyabeanus as a disease-causing agent in wildrice, little is known about either the mechanisms of pathogenicity or host defense responses. To start bridging these gaps, the genome of C. miyabeanus strain TG12bL2 was shotgun sequenced using Illumina technology. The genome assembly consists of 31.79 Mbp in 2,378 scaffolds with an N50 = 74,921. It contains 11,000 predicted genes of which 94.5% were annotated. Approximately 10% of total gene number is expected to be secreted. The C. miyabeanus genome is rich in carbohydrate active enzymes, and harbors 187 small secreted peptides (SSPs) and some fungal effector homologs. Detoxification systems were represented by a variety of enzymes that could offer protection against plant defense compounds. The non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and polyketide synthases (PKS) present were common to other Cochliobolus species. Additionally, the fungal transcriptome was analyzed at 48 hours after inoculation in planta. A total of 10,674 genes were found to be expressed, some of which are known to be involved in pathogenicity or response to host defenses including hydrophobins, cutinase, cell wall degrading enzymes, enzymes related to reactive oxygen species scavenging, PKS, detoxification systems, SSPs, and a known fungal effector. This work will facilitate future research on C. miyabeanus pathogen-associated molecular patterns and effectors, and in the identification of their corresponding wildrice defense mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia V. Castell-Miller
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Juan J. Gutierrez-Gonzalez
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
- USDA-ARS-Plant Science Research Unit, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Zheng Jin Tu
- Mayo Clinic, Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Kathryn E. Bushley
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Matthieu Hainaut
- CNRS UMR 7257, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
- INRA, USC 1408 AFMB, Marseille, France
| | - Bernard Henrissat
- CNRS UMR 7257, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
- INRA, USC 1408 AFMB, Marseille, France
- Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Deborah A. Samac
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
- USDA-ARS-Plant Science Research Unit, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
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MoCps1 is important for conidiation, conidial morphology and virulence in Magnaporthe oryzae. Curr Genet 2016; 62:861-871. [DOI: 10.1007/s00294-016-0593-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2015] [Revised: 03/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/08/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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22
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Lu S, Edwards MC. Genome-Wide Analysis of Small Secreted Cysteine-Rich Proteins Identifies Candidate Effector Proteins Potentially Involved in Fusarium graminearum-Wheat Interactions. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2016; 106:166-76. [PMID: 26524547 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-09-15-0215-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Pathogen-derived, small secreted cysteine-rich proteins (SSCPs) are known to be a common source of fungal effectors that trigger resistance or susceptibility in specific host plants. This group of proteins has not been well studied in Fusarium graminearum, the primary cause of Fusarium head blight (FHB), a devastating disease of wheat. We report here a comprehensive analysis of SSCPs encoded in the genome of this fungus and selection of candidate effector proteins through proteomics and sequence/transcriptional analyses. A total of 190 SSCPs were identified in the genome of F. graminearum (isolate PH-1) based on the presence of N-terminal signal peptide sequences, size (≤200 amino acids), and cysteine content (≥2%) of the mature proteins. Twenty-five (approximately 13%) SSCPs were confirmed to be true extracellular proteins by nanoscale liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) analysis of a minimal medium-based in vitro secretome. Sequence analysis suggested that 17 SSCPs harbor conserved functional domains, including two homologous to Ecp2, a known effector produced by the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. Transcriptional analysis revealed that at least 34 SSCPs (including 23 detected in the in vitro secretome) are expressed in infected wheat heads; about half are up-regulated with expression patterns correlating with the development of FHB. This work provides a solid candidate list for SSCP-derived effectors that may play roles in mediating F. graminearum-wheat interactions. The in vitro secretome-based method presented here also may be applicable for identifying candidate effectors in other ascomycete pathogens of crop plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunwen Lu
- U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765
| | - Michael C Edwards
- U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND 58102-2765
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Zhang H, Li B, Fang Q, Li Y, Zheng X, Zhang Z. SNARE protein FgVam7 controls growth, asexual and sexual development, and plant infection in Fusarium graminearum. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2016; 17:108-19. [PMID: 25880818 PMCID: PMC6638462 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins play critical and conserved roles in membrane fusion and vesicle transport of eukaryotic cells. Previous studies have shown that various homologues of SNARE proteins are also important in the infection of host plants by pathogenic fungi. Here, we report the characterization of a SNARE homologue, FgVam7, from Fusarium graminearum that causes head blight in wheat and barley worldwide. Phylogenetic analysis and domain comparison reveal that FgVam7 is homologous to Vam7 proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScVam7), Magnaporthe oryzae (MoVam7) and several additional fungi by containing a PhoX homology (PX) domain and a SNARE domain. We show that FgVam7 plays a regulatory role in cellular differentiation and virulence in F. graminearum. Deletion of FgVAM7 significantly reduces vegetative growth, conidiation and conidial germination, sexual reproduction and virulence. The ΔFgvam7 mutant also exhibits a defect in vacuolar maintenance and delayed endocytosis. Moreover, the ΔFgvam7 mutant is insensitive to salt and osmotic stresses, and hypersensitive to cell wall stressors. Further characterization of FgVam7 domains indicate that the PX and SNARE domains are conserved in controlling Vam7 protein localization and function, respectively. Finally, FgVam7 has been shown to positively regulate the expression of several deoxynivalenol (DON) biosynthesis genes TRI5, TRI6 and TRI101, and DON production. Our studies provide evidence for SNARE proteins as an additional means of regulatory mechanisms that govern growth, differentiation and virulence of pathogenic fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haifeng Zhang
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Bing Li
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Qin Fang
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Xiaobo Zheng
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Zhengguang Zhang
- Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China
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Jashni MK, Dols IHM, Iida Y, Boeren S, Beenen HG, Mehrabi R, Collemare J, de Wit PJGM. Synergistic Action of a Metalloprotease and a Serine Protease from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Cleaves Chitin-Binding Tomato Chitinases, Reduces Their Antifungal Activity, and Enhances Fungal Virulence. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2015; 28:996-1008. [PMID: 25915453 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-04-15-0074-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
As part of their defense strategy against fungal pathogens, plants secrete chitinases that degrade chitin, the major structural component of fungal cell walls. Some fungi are not sensitive to plant chitinases because they secrete chitin-binding effector proteins that protect their cell wall against these enzymes. However, it is not known how fungal pathogens that lack chitin-binding effectors overcome this plant defense barrier. Here, we investigated the ability of fungal tomato pathogens to cleave chitin-binding domain (CBD)-containing chitinases and its effect on fungal virulence. Four tomato CBD chitinases were produced in Pichia pastoris and were incubated with secreted proteins isolated from seven fungal tomato pathogens. Of these, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Verticillium dahliae, and Botrytis cinerea were able to cleave the extracellular tomato chitinases SlChi1 and SlChi13. Cleavage by F. oxysporum removed the CBD from the N-terminus, shown by mass spectrometry, and significantly reduced the chitinase and antifungal activity of both chitinases. Both secreted metalloprotease FoMep1 and serine protease FoSep1 were responsible for this cleavage. Double deletion mutants of FoMep1 and FoSep1 of F. oxysporum lacked chitinase cleavage activity on SlChi1 and SlChi13 and showed reduced virulence on tomato. These results demonstrate the importance of plant chitinase cleavage in fungal virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mansoor Karimi Jashni
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- 2 Department of Plant Pathology, Tarbiat Modares University, 14115-336, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ivo H M Dols
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Yuichiro Iida
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- 3 National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 514-2392, Tsu, Mie, Japan
| | - Sjef Boeren
- 4 Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, 6703 HA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Henriek G Beenen
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rahim Mehrabi
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jérôme Collemare
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Pierre J G M de Wit
- 1 Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Geng Z, Zhu W, Su H, Zhao Y, Zhang KQ, Yang J. Recent advances in genes involved in secondary metabolite synthesis, hyphal development, energy metabolism and pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae). Biotechnol Adv 2014; 32:390-402. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2013] [Revised: 11/11/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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26
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Ortega LM, Kikot GE, Rojas NL, López LMI, Astoreca AL, Alconada TM. Production, characterization, and identification using proteomic tools of a polygalacturonase from Fusarium graminearum. J Basic Microbiol 2014; 54 Suppl 1:S170-7. [PMID: 24403124 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.201300651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2013] [Accepted: 11/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Since enzymatic degradation is a mechanism or component of the aggressiveness of a pathogen, enzymatic activities from a Fusarium graminearum isolate obtained from infected wheat spikes of Argentina Pampa region were studied in order to understand the disease progression, tending to help disease control. In particular, the significance of the study of polygalacturonase activity is based on that such activity is produced in the early stages of infection on the host, suggesting a crucial role in the establishment of disease. In this sense, polygalacturonase activity produced by this microorganism has been purified 375 times from 2-day-old culture filtrates by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography successively. The purified sample showed two protein bands in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, with a molecular mass of 40 and 55 kDa. The protein bands were identified as an endopolygalacturonase and as a serine carboxypeptidase of F. graminearum, respectively, by peptide mass fingerprinting (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF/TOF) fragment ion analysis). The pattern of substrate degradation analyzed by thin layer chromatography confirmed the mode of action of the enzyme as an endopolygalacturonase. High activity of the polygalacturonase against polygalacturonic acid was observed between 4 and 6 of pH, and between 30 and 50 °C, being 5 and 50 °C the optimum pH and temperature, respectively. The enzyme was fully stable at pH 5 for 120 min and 30 °C and sensible to the presence of some metal ions. This information would contribute to understand the most favorable environmental conditions for establishment of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonel M Ortega
- Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales (CINDEFI), CCT-La Plata, CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
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Gibson DM, Donzelli BGG, Krasnoff SB, Keyhani NO. Discovering the secondary metabolite potential encoded within entomopathogenic fungi. Nat Prod Rep 2014; 31:1287-305. [DOI: 10.1039/c4np00054d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This highlight discusses the secondary metabolite potential of the insect pathogensMetarhiziumandBeauveria, including a bioinformatics analysis of secondary metabolite genes for which no products are yet identified. (Top picture is a mole cricket infected withBeauveria bassianaand the bottom picture is a wasp infected withBeauveria bassiana.)
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna M. Gibson
- USDA-ARS
- Biological Integrated Pest Management Research Unit
- Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health
- Ithaca, USA
| | - Bruno G. G. Donzelli
- Dept. of Plant Pathology and Plant Molecular Biology
- Cornell University
- Ithaca, USA
| | - Stuart B. Krasnoff
- USDA-ARS
- Biological Integrated Pest Management Research Unit
- Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health
- Ithaca, USA
| | - Nemat O. Keyhani
- Dept. of Microbiology and Cell Science
- University of Florida
- Gainesville, USA
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Shalaby S, Horwitz BA, Larkov O. Structure-activity relationships delineate how the maize pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus uses aromatic compounds as signals and metabolites. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2012; 25:931-940. [PMID: 22452657 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-01-12-0015-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The necrotrophic maize pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus senses plant-derived phenolic compounds, which promote nuclear retention of the redox-sensitive transcription factor ChAP1 and alter gene expression. The intradiol dioxygenase gene CCHD1 is strongly upregulated by coumaric and caffeic acids. Plant phenolics are potential nutrients but some of them are damaging compounds that need to be detoxified. Using coumaric acid as an inducer (16 to 160 μM), we demonstrated the rapid and simultaneous upregulation of most of the β-ketoadipate pathway genes in C. heterostrophus. A cchd1 deletion mutant provided genetic evidence that protocatechuic acid is an intermediate in catabolism of a wide range of aromatic acids. Aromatics catabolism was slowed for compounds showing toxicity, and this was strongly correlated with nuclear retention of GFP-ChAP1. The activity of a structure series of compounds showed complementary requirements for upregulation of CCHD1 and for ChAP1 nuclear retention. Thus, there is an inverse correlation between the ability to metabolize a compound and the stress response (ChAP1 nuclear retention) that it causes. The ability to metabolize phenolics and to respond to them as signals should be an advantage to plant pathogens and may explain the presence of at least two response pathways detecting these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samer Shalaby
- Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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29
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The CID1 cyclin C-like gene is important for plant infection in Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genet Biol 2010; 47:143-51. [PMID: 19909822 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2009.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2009] [Revised: 11/04/2009] [Accepted: 11/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Bushley KE, Turgeon BG. Phylogenomics reveals subfamilies of fungal nonribosomal peptide synthetases and their evolutionary relationships. BMC Evol Biol 2010; 10:26. [PMID: 20100353 PMCID: PMC2823734 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-10-26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2009] [Accepted: 01/26/2010] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are multimodular enzymes, found in fungi and bacteria, which biosynthesize peptides without the aid of ribosomes. Although their metabolite products have been the subject of intense investigation due to their life-saving roles as medicinals and injurious roles as mycotoxins and virulence factors, little is known of the phylogenetic relationships of the corresponding NRPSs or whether they can be ranked into subgroups of common function. We identified genes (NPS) encoding NRPS and NRPS-like proteins in 38 fungal genomes and undertook phylogenomic analyses in order to identify fungal NRPS subfamilies, assess taxonomic distribution, evaluate levels of conservation across subfamilies, and address mechanisms of evolution of multimodular NRPSs. We also characterized relationships of fungal NRPSs, a representative sampling of bacterial NRPSs, and related adenylating enzymes, including alpha-aminoadipate reductases (AARs) involved in lysine biosynthesis in fungi. RESULTS Phylogenomic analysis identified nine major subfamilies of fungal NRPSs which fell into two main groups: one corresponds to NPS genes encoding primarily mono/bi-modular enzymes which grouped with bacterial NRPSs and the other includes genes encoding primarily multimodular and exclusively fungal NRPSs. AARs shared a closer phylogenetic relationship to NRPSs than to other acyl-adenylating enzymes. Phylogenetic analyses and taxonomic distribution suggest that several mono/bi-modular subfamilies arose either prior to, or early in, the evolution of fungi, while two multimodular groups appear restricted to and expanded in fungi. The older mono/bi-modular subfamilies show conserved domain architectures suggestive of functional conservation, while multimodular NRPSs, particularly those unique to euascomycetes, show a diversity of architectures and of genetic mechanisms generating this diversity. CONCLUSIONS This work is the first to characterize subfamilies of fungal NRPSs. Our analyses suggest that mono/bi-modular NRPSs have more ancient origins and more conserved domain architectures than most multimodular NRPSs. It also demonstrates that the alpha-aminoadipate reductases involved in lysine biosynthesis in fungi are closely related to mono/bi-modular NRPSs. Several groups of mono/bi-modular NRPS metabolites are predicted to play more pivotal roles in cellular metabolism than products of multimodular NRPSs. In contrast, multimodular subfamilies of NRPSs are of more recent origin, are restricted to fungi, show less stable domain architectures, and biosynthesize metabolites which perform more niche-specific functions than mono/bi-modular NRPS products. The euascomycete-only NRPS subfamily, in particular, shows evidence for extensive gain and loss of domains suggestive of the contribution of domain duplication and loss in responding to niche-specific pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn E Bushley
- Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, 334 Plant Science Bldg. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - B Gillian Turgeon
- Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, 334 Plant Science Bldg. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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The genome of Nectria haematococca: contribution of supernumerary chromosomes to gene expansion. PLoS Genet 2009; 5:e1000618. [PMID: 19714214 PMCID: PMC2725324 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 322] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2009] [Accepted: 07/27/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ascomycetous fungus Nectria haematococca, (asexual name Fusarium solani), is a member of a group of >50 species known as the "Fusarium solani species complex". Members of this complex have diverse biological properties including the ability to cause disease on >100 genera of plants and opportunistic infections in humans. The current research analyzed the most extensively studied member of this complex, N. haematococca mating population VI (MPVI). Several genes controlling the ability of individual isolates of this species to colonize specific habitats are located on supernumerary chromosomes. Optical mapping revealed that the sequenced isolate has 17 chromosomes ranging from 530 kb to 6.52 Mb and that the physical size of the genome, 54.43 Mb, and the number of predicted genes, 15,707, are among the largest reported for ascomycetes. Two classes of genes have contributed to gene expansion: specific genes that are not found in other fungi including its closest sequenced relative, Fusarium graminearum; and genes that commonly occur as single copies in other fungi but are present as multiple copies in N. haematococca MPVI. Some of these additional genes appear to have resulted from gene duplication events, while others may have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer. The supernumerary nature of three chromosomes, 14, 15, and 17, was confirmed by their absence in pulsed field gel electrophoresis experiments of some isolates and by demonstrating that these isolates lacked chromosome-specific sequences found on the ends of these chromosomes. These supernumerary chromosomes contain more repeat sequences, are enriched in unique and duplicated genes, and have a lower G+C content in comparison to the other chromosomes. Although the origin(s) of the extra genes and the supernumerary chromosomes is not known, the gene expansion and its large genome size are consistent with this species' diverse range of habitats. Furthermore, the presence of unique genes on supernumerary chromosomes might account for individual isolates having different environmental niches.
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Ding S, Mehrabi R, Koten C, Kang Z, Wei Y, Seong K, Kistler HC, Xu JR. Transducin beta-like gene FTL1 is essential for pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum. EUKARYOTIC CELL 2009; 8:867-76. [PMID: 19377037 PMCID: PMC2698311 DOI: 10.1128/ec.00048-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2009] [Accepted: 04/01/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Fusarium head blight caused by Fusarium graminearum is an important disease of wheat and barley. In a previous study, we identified several mutants with reduced virulence by insertional mutagenesis. A transducin beta-like gene named FTL1 was disrupted in one of these nonpathogenic mutants. FTL1 is homologous to Saccharomyces cerevisiae SIF2, which is a component of the Set3 complex involved in late stages of ascospore formation. The Delta ftl1 mutant was significantly reduced in conidiation and failed to cause typical disease symptoms. It failed to colonize the vascular tissues of rachis or cause necrosis on the rachis of inoculated wheat heads. The Delta ftl1 mutant also was defective in spreading from infected anthers to ovaries and more sensitive than the wild type to plant defensins MsDef1 and osmotin. However, the activation of two mitogen-activated protein kinases, Mgv1 and Gpmk1, production of deoxynivalenol, and expression of genes known to be important for plant infection in F. graminearum were not affected, indicating that the defect of the Delta ftl1 mutant in plant infection is unrelated to known virulence factors in this pathogen and may involve novel mechanisms. The Delta ftl1 deletion mutant was significantly reduced in histone deacetylation, and many members of the yeast Set3 complex are conserved in F. graminearum. FTL1 appears to be a component of this well-conserved protein complex that plays a critical role in the penetration and colonization of wheat tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengli Ding
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, 915 West State Street, Lilly Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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Trail F. For blighted waves of grain: Fusarium graminearum in the postgenomics era. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2009; 149:103-10. [PMID: 19126701 PMCID: PMC2613717 DOI: 10.1104/pp.108.129684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2008] [Accepted: 11/06/2008] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Frances Trail
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1312, USA.
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Kikot GE, Hours RA, Alconada TM. Contribution of cell wall degrading enzymes to pathogenesis of Fusarium graminearum
: a review. J Basic Microbiol 2008; 49:231-41. [DOI: 10.1002/jobm.200800231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Taylor RD, Saparno A, Blackwell B, Anoop V, Gleddie S, Tinker NA, Harris LJ. Proteomic analyses of Fusarium graminearum grown under mycotoxin-inducing conditions. Proteomics 2008; 8:2256-65. [PMID: 18452225 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.200700610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Non-gel-based quantitative proteomics technology was used to profile protein expression differences when Fusarium graminearum was induced to produce trichothecenes in vitro. As F. graminearum synthesizes and secretes trichothecenes early in the cereal host invasion process, we hypothesized that proteins contributing to infection would also be induced under conditions favouring mycotoxin synthesis. Protein samples were extracted from three biological replicates of a time course study and subjected to iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) analysis. Statistical analysis of a filtered dataset of 435 proteins revealed 130 F. graminearum proteins that exhibited significant changes in expression, of which 72 were upregulated relative to their level at the initial phase of the time course. There was good agreement between upregulated proteins identified by 2-D PAGE/MS/MS and iTRAQ. RT-PCR and northern hybridization confirmed that genes encoding proteins which were upregulated based on iTRAQ were also transcriptionally active under mycotoxin producing conditions. Numerous candidate pathogenicity proteins were identified using this technique. These will provide leads in the search for mechanisms and markers of host invasion and novel antifungal targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca D Taylor
- Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Yu HY, Seo JA, Kim JE, Han KH, Shim WB, Yun SH, Lee YW. Functional analyses of heterotrimeric G protein G alpha and G beta subunits in Gibberella zeae. MICROBIOLOGY-SGM 2008; 154:392-401. [PMID: 18227243 PMCID: PMC2885625 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.2007/012260-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The homothallic ascomycete fungus Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum) is a major toxigenic plant pathogen that causes head blight disease on small-grain cereals. The fungus produces the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in infected hosts, posing a threat to human and animal health. Despite its agricultural and toxicological importance, the molecular mechanisms underlying its growth, development and virulence remain largely unknown. To better understand such mechanisms, we studied the heterotrimeric G proteins of G. zeae, which are known to control crucial signalling pathways that regulate various cellular and developmental responses in fungi. Three putative Gα subunits, GzGPA1, GzGPA2 and GzGPA3, and one Gβ subunit, GzGPB1, were identified in the F. graminearum genome. Deletion of GzGPA1, a homologue of the Aspergillus nidulans Gα gene fadA, resulted in female sterility and enhanced DON and ZEA production, suggesting that GzGPA1 is required for normal sexual reproduction and repression of toxin biosynthesis. The production of DON and ZEA was also enhanced in the GzGPB1 mutant, suggesting that both GαGzGPA1 and GβGzGPB1 negatively control mycotoxin production. Deletion of GzGPA2, which encodes a Gα protein similar to A. nidulans GanB, caused reduced pathogenicity and increased chitin accumulation in the cell wall, implying that GzGPA2 has multiple functions. Our study shows that G. zeae heterotrimeric G protein subunits can regulate vegetative growth, sexual development, toxin production and pathogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hye-Young Yu
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Ah Seo
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Eun Kim
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea
| | - Kap-Hoon Han
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Woosuk University, Wanju 565-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Won-Bo Shim
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2132, USA
| | - Sung-Hwan Yun
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Soonchunhyang University, Asan 336-745, Republic of Korea
| | - Yin-Won Lee
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Agricultural Biomaterials, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea
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Yockteng R, Marthey S, Chiapello H, Gendrault A, Hood ME, Rodolphe F, Devier B, Wincker P, Dossat C, Giraud T. Expressed sequences tags of the anther smut fungus, Microbotryum violaceum, identify mating and pathogenicity genes. BMC Genomics 2007; 8:272. [PMID: 17692127 PMCID: PMC2020487 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-8-272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2006] [Accepted: 08/10/2007] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The basidiomycete fungus Microbotryum violaceum is responsible for the anther-smut disease in many plants of the Caryophyllaceae family and is a model in genetics and evolutionary biology. Infection is initiated by dikaryotic hyphae produced after the conjugation of two haploid sporidia of opposite mating type. This study describes M. violaceum ESTs corresponding to nuclear genes expressed during conjugation and early hyphal production. Results A normalized cDNA library generated 24,128 sequences, which were assembled into 7,765 unique genes; 25.2% of them displayed significant similarity to annotated proteins from other organisms, 74.3% a weak similarity to the same set of known proteins, and 0.5% were orphans. We identified putative pheromone receptors and genes that in other fungi are involved in the mating process. We also identified many sequences similar to genes known to be involved in pathogenicity in other fungi. The M. violaceum EST database, MICROBASE, is available on the Web and provides access to the sequences, assembled contigs, annotations and programs to compare similarities against MICROBASE. Conclusion This study provides a basis for cloning the mating type locus, for further investigation of pathogenicity genes in the anther smut fungi, and for comparative genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxana Yockteng
- UMR 8079 CNRS-UPS, Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Bâtiment 360, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France
- UMR 5202, CNRS-MNHN, Origine, Structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité, Département Systématique et Evolution, 16 rue Buffon CP 39, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Marthey
- INRA, Unité Mathématique, Informatique et Génome, Domaine Vilvert, Jouy-en-Josas, F-78352, France
| | - Hélène Chiapello
- INRA, Unité Mathématique, Informatique et Génome, Domaine Vilvert, Jouy-en-Josas, F-78352, France
| | - Annie Gendrault
- INRA, Unité Mathématique, Informatique et Génome, Domaine Vilvert, Jouy-en-Josas, F-78352, France
| | - Michael E Hood
- Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA
| | - François Rodolphe
- INRA, Unité Mathématique, Informatique et Génome, Domaine Vilvert, Jouy-en-Josas, F-78352, France
| | - Benjamin Devier
- UMR 8079 CNRS-UPS, Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Bâtiment 360, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France
| | - Patrick Wincker
- Génoscope, UMR CNRS 8030, 2 Gaston Crémieux, CP 5706, 91507 Evry, France
| | - Carole Dossat
- Génoscope, UMR CNRS 8030, 2 Gaston Crémieux, CP 5706, 91507 Evry, France
| | - Tatiana Giraud
- UMR 8079 CNRS-UPS, Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Bâtiment 360, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France
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Bluhm BH, Zhao X, Flaherty JE, Xu JR, Dunkle LD. RAS2 regulates growth and pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2007; 20:627-36. [PMID: 17555271 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-20-6-0627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Fusarium graminearum is a ubiquitous pathogen of cereal crops, including wheat, barley, and maize. Diseases caused by F. graminearum are of particular concern because harvested grains frequently are contaminated with harmful mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). In this study, we explored the role of Ras GTPases in pathogenesis. The genome of F. graminearum contains two putative Ras GTPase-encoding genes. The two genes (RAS1 and RAS2) showed different patterns of expression under different conditions of nutrient availability and in various mutant backgrounds. RAS2 was dispensable for survival but, when disrupted, caused a variety of morphological defects, including slower growth on solid media, delayed spore germination, and significant reductions in virulence on wheat heads and maize silks. Intracellular cAMP levels were not affected by deletion of RAS2 and exogenous treatment of the ras2 mutant with cAMP did not affect phenotypic abnormalities, thus indicating that RAS2 plays a minor or no role in cAMP signaling. However, phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase Gpmk1 and expression of a secreted lipase (FGL1) required for infection were reduced significantly in the ras2 mutant. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that RAS2 regulates growth and virulence in F. graminearum by regulating the Gpmk1 MAP kinase pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- B H Bluhm
- Crop Production & Pest Control Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
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Xu JR, Zhao X, Dean RA. From genes to genomes: a new paradigm for studying fungal pathogenesis in Magnaporthe oryzae. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2007; 57:175-218. [PMID: 17352905 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2660(06)57005-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Magnaporthe oryzae is the most destructive fungal pathogen of rice worldwide and because of its amenability to classical and molecular genetic manipulation, availability of a genome sequence, and other resources it has emerged as a leading model system to study host-pathogen interactions. This chapter reviews recent progress toward elucidation of the molecular basis of infection-related morphogenesis, host penetration, invasive growth, and host-pathogen interactions. Related information on genome analysis and genomic studies of plant infection processes is summarized under specific topics where appropriate. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of MAP kinase and cAMP signal transduction pathways and unique features in the genome such as repetitive sequences and expanded gene families. Emerging developments in functional genome analysis through large-scale insertional mutagenesis and gene expression profiling are detailed. The chapter concludes with new prospects in the area of systems biology, such as protein expression profiling, and highlighting remaining crucial information needed to fully appreciate host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Rong Xu
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
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Tobiasen C, Aahman J, Ravnholt KS, Bjerrum MJ, Grell MN, Giese H. Nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NPS) genes in Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum and F. pseudograminearium and identification of NPS2 as the producer of ferricrocin. Curr Genet 2006; 51:43-58. [PMID: 17043871 DOI: 10.1007/s00294-006-0103-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2006] [Revised: 09/08/2006] [Accepted: 09/15/2006] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Fungi have the potential to produce a wide range of secondary metabolites including polyketides and small peptides produced by nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NPS). Fusarium graminearum is a mycotoxin producing pathogen of cereals and knowledge of the infection process is essential for the development of disease control. Bioinformatics provide a means to identify genes encoding NPSs, the products of which may act as fungal virulence factors. The F. graminearum genome sequence was analysed and similarity searches and application of prediction server service identified 15 putative NPS genes. NPS1 and NPS2, were found to be related to genes involved in NPS hydroxamate siderophore biosynthesis and chemical analysis of a F. graminearum NPS2 deletion mutant showed that this gene encodes the NPS responsible for the biosynthesis of ferricrocin. The expression of the NPS genes was analysed in Fusarium culmorum. NPS1 and NPS19 differed from the remainder of the genes, as they were only expressed during infection of barley roots and not under the different culture conditions tested. Strains of F. graminearum, F. culmorum and Fusarium pseudograminearum were examined for the presence and expression of the 15 identified NPS genes. With the exception of NPS18, that is absent in F. pseudograminearum, all the NPS genes are represented in the diffferent species. Lack of transcripts from some genes and the presence of frameshift and stop codons in four of the NPS genes in the sequenced F. graminearum strain suggest that some are pseudogenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten Tobiasen
- NovoNordisk A/S, Characterisation and Structural Chemistry, Hagedornvej 1, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
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Goswami RS, Xu JR, Trail F, Hilburn K, Kistler HC. Genomic analysis of host-pathogen interaction between Fusarium graminearum and wheat during early stages of disease development. MICROBIOLOGY-SGM 2006; 152:1877-1890. [PMID: 16735750 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.28750-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Fusarium graminearum strains responsible for causing the plant disease Fusarium head blight vary greatly in their ability to cause disease and produce mycotoxins on wheat. With the goal of understanding fungal gene expression related to pathogenicity, three cDNA libraries were created by suppression subtractive hybridization using wheat heads inoculated with a highly aggressive strain and either water or a less aggressive strain of this pathogen. Eighty-four fungal genes expressed during initial disease development were identified. The probable functions of 49 of these genes could be inferred by bioinformatic analysis. Thirty-five ESTs had no known homologues in current databases and were not identified by ab initio gene prediction methods. These ESTs from infected wheat heads probably represent F. graminearum genes that previously were not annotated. Four genes represented in one of these libraries were selected for targeted gene replacement, leading to the characterization of a two-component response regulator homologue involved in pathogenicity of the fungus. The mutants for this gene showed reduced sporulation and delayed spread of Fusarium head blight on wheat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubella S Goswami
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jin-Rong Xu
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Frances Trail
- Department of Plant Biology and Department of Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Karen Hilburn
- USDA ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - H Corby Kistler
- USDA ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
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Real-time PCR assay to quantify Fusarium graminearum wild-type and recombinant mutant DNA in plant material. J Microbiol Methods 2006; 67:534-42. [PMID: 16859788 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2006.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2006] [Revised: 05/16/2006] [Accepted: 05/16/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph, Gibberella zeae) is the predominant causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat resulting in yearly losses through reduction in grain yield and quality and accumulation of fungal generated toxins in grain. Numerous fungal genes potentially involved in virulence have been identified and studies with deletion mutants to ascertain their role are in progress. Although wheat field trials with wild-type and mutant strains are critical to understand the role these genes may play in the disease process, the interpretation of field trial data is complicated by FHB generated by indigenous species of F. graminearum. This report describes the development of a SYBR green-based real time PCR assay that quantifies the total F. graminearum genomic DNA in a plant sample as well as the total F. graminearum genomic DNA contributed from a strain containing a common fungal selectable marker used to create deletion mutants. We found our method more sensitive, reproducible and accurate than other similar recently described assays and comparable to the more expensive probe-based assays. This assay will allow investigators to correlate the amount of disease observed in wheat field trials to the F. graminearum mutant strains being examined.
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Abstract
Recent advances in sequencing technologies have led to a remarkable increase in the number of sequenced fungal genomes. Several important plant pathogenic fungi are among those that have been sequenced or are being sequenced. Additional fungal pathogens are likely to be sequenced in the near future. Analysis of the available genomes has provided useful information about genes that may be important for plant infection and colonization. Genome features, such as repetitive sequences, telomeres, conserved syntenic blocks, and expansion of pathogenicity-related genes, are discussed in detail with Magnaporthe oryzae (M. grisea) and Fusarium graminearum as examples. Functional and comparative genomic studies in plant pathogenic fungi, although still in the early stages and limited to a few pathogens, have enormous potential to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in host-pathogen interactions. Development of advanced genomics tools and infrastructure is critical for efficient utilization of the vast wealth of available genome sequence information and will form a solid foundation for systems biology studies of plant pathogenic fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Rong Xu
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
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Seong K, Li L, Hou Z, Tracy M, Kistler HC, Xu JR. Cryptic promoter activity in the coding region of the HMG-CoA reductase gene in Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genet Biol 2005; 43:34-41. [PMID: 16377218 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2005.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2005] [Revised: 10/04/2005] [Accepted: 10/07/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Head blight or scab disease caused by Fusarium graminearum poses a major threat to wheat and barley production in North America and other countries. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of F. graminearum pathogenesis, we have generated a collection of random insertional mutants. In mutant 222, one of the transformants significantly reduced in virulence, the transforming vector was inserted at amino acid 269 of the hydroxymethyl-glutaryl CoA reductase gene (HMR1) that encodes a key enzyme in sterol and isoprenoid biosynthesis. The N-terminal transmembrane domains of HMR1 were disrupted, but the C-terminal catalytic domain was intact in mutant 222. We failed to isolate mutants deleted of the HMR1 gene, suggesting that HMR1 is an essential gene. Mutants deleted of the N-terminal 254 amino acids of HMR1 were viable and phenotypically similar to mutant 222. In both mutant 222 and the hmr1Delta254 mutants, a 3-kb truncated HMR1 transcript was detectable by northern blot analyses. In the wild-type strain, only the 5-kb messenger was observed. The initiation site of truncated HMR1 transcripts was determined by 5'-RACE to be 507bp upstream from the catalytic subunit. When a HMR1 fragment corresponding to the DNA sequence of HMR1269-641 was translationally fused to a promoter-less GFP construct, green fluorescent signals were detectable in vegetative hyphae of the resulting transformants. These data indicate that this region of HMR1 ORF has cryptic promoter activity and can express the catalytic domain in hmr1 mutants deleted of its N-terminal portion. Our results also illustrate the importance of the HMR1 gene and the function of its transmembrane domains in F. graminearum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyeyong Seong
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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Lee BN, Kroken S, Chou DYT, Robbertse B, Yoder OC, Turgeon BG. Functional analysis of all nonribosomal peptide synthetases in Cochliobolus heterostrophus reveals a factor, NPS6, involved in virulence and resistance to oxidative stress. EUKARYOTIC CELL 2005; 4:545-55. [PMID: 15755917 PMCID: PMC1087798 DOI: 10.1128/ec.4.3.545-555.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Nonribosomal peptides, made by nonribosomal peptide synthetases, have diverse biological activities, including roles as fungal virulence effectors. Inspection of the genome of Cochliobolus heterostrophus, a fungal pathogen of maize and a member of a genus noted for secondary metabolite production, revealed eight multimodular nonribosomal peptide synthase (NPS) genes and three monomodular NPS-like genes, one of which encodes a nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthase hybrid enzyme presumed to be involved in synthesis of a peptide/polyketide molecule. Deletion of each NPS gene and phenotypic analyses showed that the product of only one of these genes, NPS6, is required for normal virulence on maize. NPS6 is also required for resistance to hydrogen peroxide, suggesting it may protect the fungus from oxidative stress. This and all other nps mutants had normal growth, mating ability, and appressoria. Real-time PCR analysis showed that expression of all NPS genes is low (relative to that of actin), that all (except possibly NPS2) are expressed during vegetative growth, and that expression is induced by nitrogen starvation. Only NPS6 is unfailingly conserved among euascomycete fungi, including plant and human pathogens and saprobes, suggesting the possibility that NPS6 activity provides oxidative stress protection during both saprobic and parasitic growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bee-Na Lee
- Torrey Mesa Research Institute, San Diego, California, USA
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Seong K, Hou Z, Tracy M, Kistler HC, Xu JR. Random Insertional Mutagenesis Identifies Genes Associated with Virulence in the Wheat Scab Fungus Fusarium graminearum. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2005; 95:744-750. [PMID: 18943005 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-95-0744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Fusarium graminearum is an important pathogen of small grains and maize in many areas of the world. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of F. graminearum pathogenesis, we used the restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) approach to generate random insertional mutants. Eleven pathogenicity mutants were identified by screening 6,500 hygromycin-resistant transformants. Genetic analyses indicated that the defects in plant infection were tagged by the transforming vector in six of these mutants. In mutant M8, the transforming plasmid was integrated 110-bp upstream from the start codon of the cystathionine betalyase gene (CBL1). Gene replacement mutants deleted for CBL1 and the methionine synthase gene MSY1 were also obtained. Both the cbl1 and msy1 deletion mutants were methionine auxotrophic and significantly reduced in virulence on corn silks and wheat heads. We also identified genes disrupted by the transforming DNA in three other REMI mutants exhibiting reduced virulence. In mutants M68, the transforming vectors were inserted in the NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase. The putative b-ZIP transcription factor gene and the transducin beta-subunit-like gene disrupted in mutants M7 and M75, respectively, had no known homologs in filamentous fungi and were likely to be novel fungal virulence factors.
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Veneault-Fourrey C, Parisot D, Gourgues M, Laugé R, Lebrun MH, Langin T. The tetraspanin gene ClPLS1 is essential for appressorium-mediated penetration of the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. Fungal Genet Biol 2005; 42:306-18. [PMID: 15749050 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2005.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2004] [Revised: 12/28/2004] [Accepted: 01/02/2005] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Conservation of the molecular mechanisms controlling appressorium-mediated penetration during evolution was assessed through a functional study of the ClPLS1 gene from Colletotrichum lindemuthianum orthologous to the MgPLS1 from Magnaporthe grisea, involved in penetration peg development. These two plant-pathogenic Pyrenomycetes differentiate appressoria to penetrate into plant tissues. We showed that ClPLS1 is a functional homologue of MgPLS1 in M. grisea. Loss of ClPLS1 function had no effect on vegetative growth, conidiation or on appressorium differentiation and maturation. However, Clpls1::hph mutants are non-pathogenic on either intact or wounded bean leaves, as a result of a defect in the formation and/or positioning of the penetration pore and consequently in the formation of the penetration peg. These observations suggest that the fungal tetraspanins control a conserved appressorial function that could be required for the correct localization of the site where the penetration peg emerges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Veneault-Fourrey
- UMR CNRS/UPS 8618, Laboratoire de Phytopathologie Moléculaire, Institut de Biotechnologie des Plantes, Bât. 630, Université ParisXI, 91405 Orsay cedex, France.
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Maier FJ, Malz S, Lösch AP, Lacour T, Schäfer W. Development of a highly efficient gene targeting system for using the disruption of a polyketide synthase gene as a visible marker. FEMS Yeast Res 2005; 5:653-62. [PMID: 15780665 DOI: 10.1016/j.femsyr.2004.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2004] [Revised: 12/15/2004] [Accepted: 12/27/2004] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We cloned a polyketide synthase gene (pks12) from Fusarium graminearum, a devastating fungal pathogen of cereals. Transformation-mediated gene disruption led to an easily detectable albino phenotype of the disruptants. We used the disruption of the pks12 gene as a visible marker for transformation-mediated homologous recombination and optimized the transformation procedure to achieve a high rate of homologous recombination. In combination with the published genomic sequence data and the generation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for F. graminearum, this is a useful tool to investigate this important plant pathogen on a molecular level. Optimized transformation of F. graminearum resulted in at least 93% homologous recombination events when the homologous genomic DNA fragment in the vector had a size of approximately 800bp and was linearized in the middle. Using a genomic sequence of approximately 500bp in the transformation vector, 70% of the transformants still exhibited homologous recombination. On the contrary, no more than 10% homologous recombination events were observed when less than 400bp DNA fragments were used. We co-transformed F. graminearum with two different vectors. One vector harboured a DNA insert homologous to the pks12 gene, while the other vector consisted of the same vector backbone carrying the selection marker specific for F. graminearum. About 70% of the transformants had a disrupted pks12 gene, and all of these showed an integration of the second vector into the pks disruption vector. Therefore, the time-consuming construction of a single transformation vector can be avoided; furthermore, it is now easily feasible to express a gene construct at a defined and mutated genomic site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank J Maier
- Molekulare Phytopathologie und Genetik, Biozentrum Klein Flottbek, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststrasse 18, D-22609 Hamburg, Germany
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Goswami RS, Kistler HC. Heading for disaster: Fusarium graminearum on cereal crops. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2004; 5:515-25. [PMID: 20565626 DOI: 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2004.00252.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 773] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED SUMMARY The rapid global re-emergence of Fusarium head blight disease of wheat and barley in the last decade along with contamination of grains with mycotoxins attributable to the disease have spurred basic research on the fungal causal agent. As a result, Fusarium graminearum quickly has become one of the most intensively studied fungal plant pathogens. This review briefly summarizes current knowledge on the pathogenicity, population genetics, evolution and genomics of Fusarium graminearum. TAXONOMY Based on the sexual state Gibberella zeae (Schwein.) Petch: Superkingdom Eukaryota; Kingdom Fungi; Phylum Ascomycota; Subphylum Pezizomycotina; Class Sordariomycetidae; Subclass Hypocreomycetidae; Order Hypocreales; Family Nectriaceae; Genus Gibberella. HOST RANGE The pathogen is capable of causing head blight or 'scab' on wheat (Triticum), barley (Hordeum), rice (Oryza), oats (Avena) and Gibberella stalk and ear rot disease on maize (Zea). The fungus also may infect other plant species without causing disease symptoms. Other host genera cited for Gibberella zeae or F. graminearum sensu lato (see below) are Agropyron, Agrostis, Bromus, Calamagrostis, Cenchrus, Cortaderia, Cucumis, Echinochloa, Glycine, Hierochloe, Lolium, Lycopersicon, Medicago, Phleum, Poa, Schizachyrium, Secale, Setaria, Sorghum, Spartina and Trifolium. Disease symptoms and signs: For wheat, brown, dark purple to black necrotic lesions form on the exterior surface of the florets and glume (Fig. 1). Although these lesion symptoms sometimes are referred to as scab, they are not formally related to the hyperplasia and hypertrophic epidermal growth associated with other scab diseases such as apple scab. Peduncles immediately below the inflorescence may become discoloured brown/purple. With time, tissue of the inflorescence often becomes blighted, appearing bleached and tan, while the grain within atrophies. Awns often become deformed, twisted and curved downward. In barley, infections are not always readily apparent in the field. Infected spikelets may show a browning or water-soaked appearance. Infected barley kernels show a tan to dark brown discolouration that can be similar to that caused by other kernel blighting organisms. During prolonged wet periods, pink to salmon-orange spore masses of the fungus are often seen on infected spikelets, glumes and kernels in both wheat and barley. For maize ear rot, infection occurs by way of colonizing silk and thus symptoms first appear at the ear apex. White mycelium, turning pink to red with time, colonizes kernels and may progress basipetally, covering the entire ear. USEFUL WEBSITES http://www.broad.mit.edu/annotation/fungi/fusarium/mips.gsf.de/genre/proj/fusarium/ http://www.cdl.umn.edu/scab/gz-consort.html http://www.scabusa.org/
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubella S Goswami
- USDA ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory, and Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
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50
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Combier JP, Melayah D, Raffier C, Pépin R, Marmeisse R, Gay G. Nonmycorrhizal (myc-) mutants of Hebeloma cylindrosporum obtained through insertional mutagenesis. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2004; 17:1029-1038. [PMID: 15384493 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi.2004.17.9.1029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation of protoplasts was used as a method for insertional mutagenesis to obtain mutants of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum impaired in symbiotic ability. Following restriction enzyme-mediated integration or conventional plasmid insertion, a library of 1,725 hygromycin-resistant monokaryotic transformants was generated and screened for the symbiotic defect, using Pinus pinaster seedlings as host plants. A total of 51 transformants displaying a dramatically reduced mycorrhizal ability were identified. Among them, 29 were nonmycorrhizal (myc-), but only 10 of them had integrated one or several copies of the transforming plasmid in their genome. Light and scanning electron microscopy observations of pine roots inoculated with myc- mutants suggested that we selected mutants blocked at early stages of interaction between partners or at the stage of Hartig net formation. Myc- mutants with plasmid insertions were crossed with a compatible wild-type monokaryon and allowed to fruit. Monokaryotic progenies were obtained in three independent crosses and were analyzed for symbiotic activity and plasmid insertion. In all three progenies, a 1:1 myc-:myc+ segregation ratio was observed, suggesting that each myc- phenotype resulted from a single gene mutation. However, for none of the three mutants, the myc- phenotype segregated with any of the plasmid insertions. Our results support the idea that master genes, the products of which are essential for symbiosis establishment, do exist in ectomycorrhizal fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Philippe Combier
- Université Lyon 1, UMR CNRS 5557 d'Ecologie Microbienne Bât. A. Lwoff, 43 boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
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