Controlled gene expression in the plant pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica by use of a copper-responsive element

Development of a versatile copper-responsive gene expression system in the plant-pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is an important plant-pathogenic fungus that causes Fusarium head blight on wheat and barley, and ear rot on maize worldwide. This fungus has been widely used as a model organism to study various biological processes of plant-pathogenic fungi because of its amenability to genetic manipulation and well-established outcross system. Gene deletion and overexpression/constitutive expression of target genes are tools widely used to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying fungal development, virulence, and secondary metabolite production. However, for fine-tuning gene expression and studying essential genes, a conditional gene expression system is necessary that enables repression or induction of gene expression by modifying external conditions. Until now, only a few conditional expression systems have been developed in plant-pathogenic fungi. This study proposes a new and versatile conditional gene expression system in F. graminearum using the promoter of a copper-responsive gene, designated F. graminearum copper-responsive 1 (FCR1). Transcript levels of FCR1 were found to be greatly affected by copper availability conditions. Moreover, the promoter (P_FCR1 ), 1 kb upstream of the FCR1 open reading frame, was sufficient to confer copper-dependent gene expression. Replacement of a green fluorescent protein gene and FgENA5 promoter with a P_FCR1 promoter clearly showed that P_FCR1 could be used for fine-tuning gene expression in this fungus. We also demonstrated the applicability of this conditional gene expression system to an essential gene study by replacing the promoter of FgIRE1, an essential gene of F. graminearum. This enabled the generation of FgIRE1 suppression mutants, which allowed functional characterization of the gene. This study reported the first conditional gene expression system in F. graminearum using both repression and induction. This system would be a convenient way to precisely control gene expression and will be used to determine the biological functions of various genes, including essential ones.

Development of a bipartite ecdysone-responsive gene switch for the oomycete Phytophthora infestans and its use to manipulate transcription during axenic culture and plant infection

Conditional expression systems have been proven to be useful tools for the elucidation of gene function in many taxa. Here, we report the development of the first useful inducible promoter system for an oomycete, based on an ecdysone receptor (EcR) and the ecdysone analogue methoxyfenozide. In Phytophthora infestans, the potato late blight pathogen, a monopartite transactivator containing the VP16 activation domain from herpes simplex virus, the GAL4 DNA-binding domain from yeast and the EcR receptor domain from the spruce budworm enabled high levels of expression of a β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, but unacceptable basal activity in the absence of the methoxyfenozide inducer. Greatly improved performance was obtained using a bipartite system in which transcription is activated by a heterodimer between a chimera of VP16 and the migratory locust retinoid X receptor, and a separate EcR-DNA-binding domain chimera. Transformants were obtained that exhibited >100-fold activation of the reporter by methoxyfenozide, with low basal levels of expression and induced activity approaching that of the strong ham34 promoter. Performance varied between transformants, probably as a result of position effects. The addition of methoxyfenozide enabled strong induction during hyphal growth, zoosporogenesis and colonization of tomato. No significant effects of the inducer or transactivators on growth, development or pathogenicity were observed. The technology should therefore be a useful addition to the arsenal of methods for the study of oomycete plant pathogens.

Hypovirus molecular biology: from Koch's postulates to host self-recognition genes that restrict virus transmission

The idea that viruses can be used to control fungal diseases has been a driving force in mycovirus research since the earliest days. Viruses in the family Hypoviridae associated with reduced virulence (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, have held a prominent place in this research. This has been due in part to the severity of the chestnut blight epidemics in North America and Europe and early reports of hypovirulence-mediated mitigation of disease in European forests and successful application for control of chestnut blight in chestnut orchards. A more recent contributing factor has been the development of a hypovirus/C. parasitica experimental system that has overcome many of the challenges associated with mycovirus research, stemming primarily from the exclusive intracellular lifestyle shared by all mycoviruses. This chapter will focus on hypovirus molecular biology with an emphasis on the development of the hypovirus/C. parasitica experimental system and its contributions to fundamental and practical advances in mycovirology and the broader understanding of virus-host interactions and fungal pathogenesis.

Development of a conditional gene expression system using a zearalenone-inducible promoter for the ascomycete fungus Gibberella zeae

The ascomycete fungus Gibberella zeae is an important plant pathogen that causes fusarium head blight on small grains. Molecular studies of this fungus have been performed extensively to uncover the biological mechanisms related to pathogenicity, toxin production, and sexual reproduction. Molecular methods, such as targeted gene deletion, gene overexpression, and gene fusion to green fluorescent protein (GFP), are relatively easy to perform with this fungus; however, conditional expression systems have not been developed. The purpose of this study was to identify a promoter that could be induced by zearalenone (ZEA) for the development of a conditional expression system in G. zeae. Through microarray analysis, we isolated one zearalenone response gene (ZEAR) whose expression was increased more than 50 times after ZEA treatment. Northern blot analysis showed that the ZEAR transcript dramatically increased after 1 h of ZEA treatment. To determine the utility of the ZEAR promoter, called Pzear, in a conditional expression system, we transformed a Pzear::GFP fusion construct into G. zeae. Our data showed a ZEA concentration-dependent increase in GFP expression. We also replaced the promoter of G. zeae metE (GzmetE), an essential gene for methionine biosynthesis, with the Pzear promoter. The growth of the Pzear-GzmetE mutant on minimal medium was dependent on the ZEA concentration supplemented in the medium and showed that GzMetE expression was induced by ZEA. This study is the first report of an inducible promoter in G. zeae. Our system will be useful for the characterization of essential gene functions in this fungus through differential and ZEA-dependent gene expression. In addition, the Pzear promoter may be applicable as a biosensor for the detection of ZEA contamination in agricultural products.

Development of a transformation system in the swainsonine producing, slow growing endophytic fungus, Undifilum oxytropis

Undifilum oxytropis (Phylum: Ascomycota; Family: Pleosporaceae) is a slow growing endophytic fungus that produces a toxic alkaloid, swainsonine. This endophyte resides in locoweeds, which are perennial flowering legumes. Consumption of this fungus by grazing animals induces a neurological disorder called locoism. The alkaloid swainsonine, an alpha-mannosidase inhibitor, is responsible for the field toxicity related to locoism. Little is known about the biosynthetic pathway of swainsonine in endophytic fungi. Genetic manipulation of endophytic fungi is important to better understand biochemical pathways involved in alkaloid synthesis, but no transformation system has been available for studying such enzymes in Undifilum. In this study we report the development of protoplast and transformation system for U. oxytropis. Fungal mycelia required for generating protoplasts were grown in liquid culture, then harvested and processed with various enzymes. Protoplasts were transformed with a fungal specific vector driving the expression of Enhanced Green Florescent Protein (EGFP). The quality of transformed protoplasts and transformation efficiency were monitored during the process. In all cases, resistance to antibiotic hygromycin B was maintained. Such manipulation will open avenues for future research to decipher fungal metabolic pathways.