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Cuamatzi-Flores J, Colón-González M, Requena-Romo F, Quiñones-Galeana S, Cervantes-Chávez JA, Morales L. Enhanced oxidative stress resistance in Ustilago maydis and its implications on the virulence. Int Microbiol 2024:10.1007/s10123-024-00489-8. [PMID: 38401003 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-024-00489-8] [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: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
The phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis causes corn smut by suppressing host plant defenses, including the oxidative burst response. While many studies have investigated how U. maydis responds to oxidative stress during infection, the consequences of heightened resistance to oxidative stress on virulence remain understudied. This study aimed to identify the effects on virulence in U. maydis strains exhibiting enhanced resistance to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).To achieve this, we exposed U. maydis SG200 to 20 escalating H2O2 shocks, resulting in an adapted strain resistant to concentrations as high as 60 mM of H2O2, a lethal dose for the initial strain. Genetic analysis of the adapted strain revealed five nucleotide substitutions, two minor copy number variants, and a large amplification event on chromosome nine (1-149 kb) encompassing the sole catalase gene. Overexpressing catalase increased resistance to H2O2; however, this resistance was lower than that observed in the adapted strain. Additionally, virulence was reduced in both strains with enhanced H2O2 resistance.In summary, enhanced H2O2 resistance, achieved through either continuous exposure to the oxidative agent or through catalase overexpression, decreased virulence. This suggests that the response to the oxidative stress burst in U. maydis is optimal and that increasing the resistance to H2O2 does not translate into increased virulence. These findings illuminate the intricate relationship between oxidative stress resistance and virulence in U. maydis, offering insights into its infection mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Cuamatzi-Flores
- Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, 76230, Querétaro, México.
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México.
| | - Maritrini Colón-González
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México
| | - Fernanda Requena-Romo
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México
| | - Samuel Quiñones-Galeana
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México
| | - José Antonio Cervantes-Chávez
- Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, 76230, Querétaro, México.
| | - Lucia Morales
- Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 76230, Querétaro, México.
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Sanpedro-Luna JA, Vega-Alvarado L, Vázquez-Cruz C, Sánchez-Alonso P. Global Gene Expression of Post-Senescent Telomerase-Negative ter1Δ Strain of Ustilago maydis. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:896. [PMID: 37755003 PMCID: PMC10532341 DOI: 10.3390/jof9090896] [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: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
We analyzed the global expression patterns of telomerase-negative mutants from haploid cells of Ustilago maydis to identify the gene network required for cell survival in the absence of telomerase. Mutations in either of the telomerase core subunits (trt1 and ter1) of the dimorphic fungus U. maydis cause deficiencies in teliospore formation. We report the global transcriptome analysis of two ter1Δ survivor strains of U. maydis, revealing the deregulation of telomerase-deleted responses (TDR) genes, such as DNA-damage response, stress response, cell cycle, subtelomeric, and proximal telomere genes. Other differentially expressed genes (DEGs) found in the ter1Δ survivor strains were related to pathogenic lifestyle factors, plant-pathogen crosstalk, iron uptake, meiosis, and melanin synthesis. The two ter1Δ survivors were phenotypically comparable, yet DEGs were identified when comparing these strains. Our findings suggest that teliospore formation in U. maydis is controlled by key pathogenic lifestyle and meiosis genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Antonio Sanpedro-Luna
- Posgrado en Microbiología, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla 72570, Mexico;
| | - Leticia Vega-Alvarado
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico;
| | - Candelario Vázquez-Cruz
- Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla 72570, Mexico;
| | - Patricia Sánchez-Alonso
- Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla 72570, Mexico;
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Pan L, Li D, Sun Z, Lin W, Hong B, Qin W, Xu L, Liu W, Zhou Q, Wang F, Cai R, Qian M, Tong Y. First Characterization of a Hafnia Phage Reveals Extraordinarily Large Burst Size and Unusual Plaque Polymorphism. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:754331. [PMID: 35211099 PMCID: PMC8861465 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.754331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A unique lytic phage infecting Hafnia paralvei was isolated and identified. Hafnia phage Ca belongs to the family Autographiviridae, possessing an icosahedral head with a diameter of 55 nm and a short non-contractile tail. Unusually, the burst size of Hafnia phage Ca of 10,292 ± 1,097 plaque-forming units (PFUs)/cell is much larger than other dsDNA phages reported before. Compared to the genome of the related phage, Hafnia phage Ca genome contains extra genes including DNA mimic ocr, dGTP triphosphohydrolase inhibitor, endonuclease, endonuclease VII, and HNH homing endonuclease gene. Extraordinarily, the phage developed different sizes of plaques when a single plaque was picked out and inoculated on a double-layer Luria broth agar plate with its host. Furthermore, varied packaging tightness for the tails of Hafnia phage Ca was observed (tail length: 4.35–45.92 nm). Most of the tails appeared to be like a cone with appendages, some were dot-like, bun-like, table tennis racket handle-like, and ponytail-like. Although the complete genome of Hafnia phage Ca is 40,286 bp, an incomplete genome with a deletion of a 397-bp fragment, containing one ORF predicted as HNH homing endonuclease gene (HEG), was also found by high throughput sequencing. Most of the genome of the virus particles in large plaques is complete (>98%), while most of the genome of the virus particles in small plaques is incomplete (>98%), and the abundance of both of them in medium-sized plaques is similar (complete, 40%; incomplete, 60%). In an experiment to see if the phage could be protective to brocade carps intramuscularly injected with H. paralvei LY-23 and phage Ca, the protection rate of Hafnia phage Ca to brocade carp (Cyprinus aka Koi) against H. paralvei was 33.38% (0.01 < p < 0.05). This study highlights some new insights into the peculiar biological and genomic characteristics of phage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingting Pan
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Dengfeng Li
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Zhitong Sun
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Wei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Binxin Hong
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Weinan Qin
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Lihua Xu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Wencai Liu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Qin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Ruqian Cai
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Minhua Qian
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Yigang Tong
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
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