Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the heat stress response in the filamentous fungus Metarhizium anisopliae using RNA-Seq

The SUMO gene MrSmt3 is involved in SUMOylation, conidiation and stress response in Metarhizium robertsii

Smt3, as a small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO), play an essential role in the regulation of protein SUMOylation, and thus this process can affect various important biological functions. Here, we investigated the roles of MrSmt3 (yeast SUMO/Smt3 homologs) in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii. Our results of subcellular localization assays demonstrated that MrSmt3 was present in the cytoplasm and nucleus, whereas MrSmt3 was largely localized in the nucleus during oxidative stress. Importantly, disruption of MrSmt3 significantly decreased the level of protein SUMOylation under heat stress. Deletion of MrSmt3 led to a significant decrease in conidial production, and increased sensitivity to various stresses, including heat, oxidative, and cell wall-disturbing agents. However, bioassays of direct injection and topical inoculation demonstrated that deletion of MrSmt3 did not affect fungal virulence. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis identified 1,484 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the WT and ΔMrSmt3 during conidiation, including 971 down-regulated DEGs and 513 up-regulated DEGs, and further analysis showed that the expression level of several classical conidiation-associated genes, such as transcription factor AbaA (MAA_00694), transcription factor bZIP (MAA_00888) and transcription factor Ste12 (MAA_10450), was down-regulated in the ΔMrSmt3 mutant. Specifically, the major downregulated DEGs were mainly associated with a variety of metabolic regulatory processes including metabolic process, organic substance metabolic process and primary metabolic process. Collectively, our findings highlight the important roles of the SUMO gene MrSmt3 in modulating SUMOylation, conidiation and stress response in M. robertsii.

Engineering Entomopathogenic Fungi Using Thermal-Responsive Polymer to Boost Their Resilience against Abiotic Stresses

Entomopathogenic fungi offer an ecologically sustainable and highly effective alternative to chemical pesticides for managing plant pests. However, the efficacy of mycoinsecticides in pest control suffers from environmental abiotic stresses, such as solar UV radiation and temperature fluctuations, which seriously hinder their practical application in the field. Herein, we discovered that the synthetic amphiphilic thermal-responsive polymers are able to significantly enhance the resistance of Metarhizium robertsii conidia against thermal and UV irradiation stresses. The thermosensitive polymers with extremely low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility can be engineered onto the M. robertsii conidia surface by anchoring hydrophobic alkyl chains. Further investigations revealed that polymer supplementation remarkably augmented the capacity for penetration and the virulence of M. robertsii under heat and UV stresses. Notably, broad-spectrum entomopathogenic fungi can be protected by the polymers. The molecular mechanism was elucidated through exploring RNA sequencing and in vivo/vitro enzyme activity assays. This work provides a novel avenue for fortifying the resilience of entomopathogenic fungi, potentially advancing their practical application as biopesticides.

Serine peptidases and increased amounts of soluble proteins contribute to heat priming of the plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold disease in leading crop plants. The disease develops only at cool temperatures, but the fungus remains viable in warm climates and can survive periods of extreme heat. We discovered a strong heat priming effect in which the exposure of B. cinerea to moderately high temperatures greatly improves its ability to cope with subsequent, potentially lethal temperature conditions. We showed that priming promotes protein solubility during heat stress and discovered a group of priming-induced serine-type peptidases. Several lines of evidence, including transcriptomics, proteomics, pharmacology, and mutagenesis data, link these peptidases to the B. cinerea priming response, highlighting their important roles in regulating priming-mediated heat adaptation. By imposing a series of sub-lethal temperature pulses that subverted the priming effect, we managed to eliminate the fungus and prevent disease development, demonstrating the potential for developing temperature-based plant protection methods by targeting the fungal heat priming response. IMPORTANCE Priming is a general and important stress adaptation mechanism. Our work highlights the importance of priming in fungal heat adaptation, reveals novel regulators and aspects of heat adaptation mechanisms, and demonstrates the potential of affecting microorganisms, including pathogens through manipulations of the heat adaptation response.

Infection with a novel polymycovirus enhances growth, conidiation and sensitivity to UV-B irradiation of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

Metarhizium anisopliae is a well-studied entomopathogenic fungus that is widely used in biological control programs. The presence of polymycoviruses in this fungus is common, but their effects on fungal development and stress tolerance are not well understood. In this study, we report the discovery of a novel double-stranded RNA virus, named Metarhizium anisopliae polymycovirus 1 (MaPmV1), which comprises four dsRNAs ranging from 2.4 to 1.4 kbp in length. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that MaPmV1 belongs to the Polymycoviridae family. Biological comparison between MaPmV1-infected (Vi) and -free (Vf) isogenic lines showed that MaPmV1 remarkably enhances the growth rate and conidiation of the host fungus. The upregulation of growth- and conidiation-related genes in Vi strains supports this finding. In addition, MaPmV1 increases the sensitivity of the host to UV-B irradiation, which is evidenced by the downregulation of DNA damage repair genes in Vi strains. However, MaPmV1 does not appear to have any significant impact on the virulence of M. anisopliae. Furthermore, overexpression of individual viral proteins in M. anisopliae did not result in any significant phenotypic alterations, indicating that MaPmV1-mediated changes are not related to a single viral protein. Overall, our findings suggest that mycoviruses can be exploited to enhance fungal development in entomopathogenic fungi, which may lead to improved conidium production on a large scale.

Metarhizium robertsii MrAbaA affects conidial pigmentation via regulating MrPks1 and MrMlac1 expression

Pigments of conidia play a crucial role in fungal defense against environmental stressors such as UV radiation. The molecular basis of conidial pigmentation has been studied in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii, while limited information been reported on function mechanisms transcription factors governing conidial pigmentation. Here, we identified transcription factor MrAbaA binding to the promoter regions of both MrPks1 and MrMlac1 in M. robertsii using yeast one-hybrid technology. Chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR assays further confirmed the interaction. Furthermore, overexpression of MrAbaA in M. robertsii resulted in increased conidial pigment accumulation and enhanced tolerances to UV stress by upregulated the MrPks1 and MrMlac1 expression. Taken together, MrAbaA affects conidial pigmentation by interacting with the promoter regions of both MrPks1 and MrMlac1 in M. robertsii. This work advances the understanding of the regulation mechanism for conidial pigmentation in entomopathogenic fungi.

A Novel Gammapartitivirus That Causes Changes in Fungal Development and Multi-Stress Tolerance to Important Medicinal Fungus Cordyceps chanhua

Cicada flower, scientifically named Cordyceps chanhua, is an important and well-known Chinese cordycipitoid medicinal mushroom. Although most mycoviruses seem to induce latent infections, some mycoviruses cause host effects. However, the effects of mycovirus on the fungal development and stress tolerance of C. chanhua remain unknown. In this study, we report a novel mycovirus designated Cordyceps chanhua partitivirus 1 (CchPV1) from C. chanhua isolate RCEF5997. The CchPV1 genome comprises dsRNA 1 and dsRNA 2, 1784 and 1563 bp in length, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis using the aa sequences of RdRp revealed that CchPV1 grouped with members of the genus Gammapartitivirus in the family Partitiviridae. We further co-cultivated on PDA donor strain RCEF5997 and recipient C. chanhua strain RCEF5833 (Vf) for 7 days, and we successfully obtained an isogenic line of strain RCEF5833 with CchPV1 (Vi) through single-spore isolation, along with ISSR marker and dsRNA extraction. The biological comparison revealed that CchPV1 infection slows the growth rate of the host, but increases the conidiation and formation of fruiting bodies of the host. Furthermore, the assessment of fungal tolerance demonstrated that CchPV1 weakens the multi-stress tolerance of the host. Thus, CchPV1 infection cause changes in fungal development and multi-stress tolerance of the host C. chanhua. The findings of this study elucidate the effects of gammapartitivirus on host entomogenous fungi and provide a novel strategy for producing high-quality fruiting bodies of C. chanhua.

Dynamic Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Transcription Factors Involved in the Synthesis of Ethyl Acetate in Aroma-Producing Yeast

Ethyl acetate is an important flavor element that is a vital component of baijiu. To date, the transcription factors that can help identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the synthesis of ethyl acetate have not been studied. In the present study, we sequenced and assembled the Wickerhamomyces anomalus strain YF1503 transcriptomes to identify transcription factors. We identified 307 transcription factors in YF1503 using high-throughput RNA sequencing. Some transcription factors, such as C2H2, bHLH, MYB, and bZIP, were up-regulated, and these might play a role in ethyl acetate synthesis. According to the trend of ethyl acetate content, heat map results and STEM, twelve genes were selected for verification of expression levels using quantitative real-time PCR. This dynamic transcriptome analysis presents fundamental information on the transcription factors and pathways that are involved in the synthesis of ethyl acetate in aroma-producing yeast. Of significant interest is the discovery of the roles of various transcription factor genes in the synthesis of ethyl acetate.

Proteomics of Two Thermotolerant Isolates of Trichoderma under High-Temperature Stress

Several species of the soil borne fungus of the genus Trichoderma are known to be versatile, opportunistic plant symbionts and are the most successful biocontrol agents used in today's agriculture. To be successful in field conditions, the fungus must endure varying climatic conditions. Studies have indicated that a high atmospheric temperature coupled with low humidity is a major factor in the inconsistent performance of Trichoderma under field conditions. Understanding the molecular modulations associated with Trichoderma that persist and deliver under abiotic stress conditions will aid in exploiting the value of these organisms for such uses. In this study, a comparative proteomic analysis, using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF-TOF) mass spectrometry, was used to identify proteins associated with thermotolerance in two thermotolerant isolates of Trichoderma: T. longibrachiatum 673, TaDOR673 and T. asperellum 7316, TaDOR7316; with 32 differentially expressed proteins being identified. Sequence homology and conserved domains were used to identify these proteins and to assign a probable function to them. The thermotolerant isolate, TaDOR673, seemed to employ the stress signaling MAPK pathways and heat shock response pathways to combat the stress condition, whereas the moderately tolerant isolate, TaDOR7316, seemed to adapt to high-temperature conditions by reducing the accumulation of misfolded proteins through an unfolded protein response pathway and autophagy. In addition, there were unique, as well as common, proteins that were differentially expressed in the two isolates studied.

Transcriptome Analysis of the Japanese Pine Sawyer Beetle, Monochamus alternatus, Infected with the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-197

The Japanese pine sawyer (JPS) beetle, Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), damages pine trees and transmits the pine wilt nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Nickle. Chemical agents have been used to control JPS beetle, but due to various issues, efforts are being made to replace these chemical agents with entomopathogenic fungi. We investigated the expression of immune-related genes in JPS beetle in response to infection with JEF-197, a Metarhizium anisopliae isolate, using RNA-seq. RNA samples were obtained from JEF-197, JPS adults treated with JEF-197, and non-treated JPS adults on the 8th day after fungal treatment, and RNA-seq was performed using Illumina sequencing. JPS beetle transcriptome was assembled de novo and differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis was performed. There were 719 and 1953 up- and downregulated unigenes upon JEF-197 infection, respectively. Upregulated contigs included genes involved in RNA transport, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes, spliceosome-related genes, and genes involved in immune-related signaling pathways such as the Toll and Imd pathways. Forty-two fungal DEGs related to energy and protein metabolism were upregulated, and genes involved in the stress response were also upregulated in the infected JPS beetles. Together, our results indicate that infection of JPS beetles by JEF-197 induces the expression of immune-related genes.

G-Protein Subunit Gαi in Mitochondria, MrGPA1, Affects Conidiation, Stress Resistance, and Virulence of Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium robertsii

G proteins are critical modulators or transducers in various transmembrane signaling systems. They play key roles in numerous biological processes in fungi, including vegetative growth, development of infection-related structures, asexual conidiation, and virulence. However, functions of G proteins in entomopathogenic fungi remain unclear. Here, we characterized the roles of MrGPA1, a G-protein subunit Gαi, in conidiation, stress resistance, and virulence in Metarhizium robertsii. MrGPA1 was localized in the mitochondria. MrGpa1 deletion resulted in a significant reduction (47%) in the conidiation capacity, and reduced expression of several key conidiation-related genes, including fluG, flbD, brlA, wetA, phiA, and stuA. Further, MrGpa1 disruption resulted in decreased fungal sensitivity to UV irradiation and thermal stress, as determined based on conidial germination of ΔMrGpa1 and wild-type (WT) strains. Chemical stress analysis indicated that MrGpa1 contributes to fungal antioxidant capacity and cell wall integrity, but is not involved in tolerance to antifungal drug and osmotic stress. Importantly, insect bioassays involving (topical inoculation and injection) of Galleria mellonella larvae revealed decreased virulence of ΔMrGpa1 strain after cuticle infection. This was accompanied by decreased rates of appressorium formation and reduced expression of several cuticle penetration-related genes. Further assays showed that MrGpa1 regulated intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels, but feeding with cAMP could not recover the appressorium formation rate of ΔMrGpa1. These observations suggest that MrGpa1 contributes to the regulation of conidiation, UV irradiation, thermal stress response, antioxidant capacity, and cell wall integrity in M. robertsii. This gene is also involved in insect cuticle penetration during infection. These findings raise the possibility of designing powerful strategies for genetic improvement of M. robertsii conidiation capacity and virulence for killing pests.

Genome-wide study of saprotrophy-related genes in the basal fungus Conidiobolus heterosporus

Conidiobolus spp. are important saprophytic basal fungi. However, to date, no genomic-level data for decaying plant materials in the genus Conidiobolus has been reported. Here, we report that the 33.4-Mb genome of Conidiobolus heterosporus encodes 10,857 predicted genes. Conidiobolus heterosporus harbors 394 CAZyme-encoding genes belonging to 4 major modules but does not encode a polysaccharide lyase (PL). Many carbohydrate esterases (CEs) belonging to the family CE12 play crucial roles as pectin acetylesterases, and 14 genes were upregulated in the IM (fungus grown on inducing medium) among 17 expressed CE12 family genes. In addition, most of the genes in the GH132 CAZyme family showed a greater than 5-fold increase in expression in the IM compared with that in the wild type. Furthermore, 122 P450-encoding genes grouped into 11 families were detected in the fungal genome, most of which belonged to the CYP547 family (36 genes) followed by CYP548 (27 genes) and CYP5856 (25 genes). Interestingly, members of the families CYP5014 and CYP5136 were identified, the first time such enzymes have been described in a fungus. Our findings provide new insights into the genomics and genomic features of the saprophytic basal fungus C. heterosporus.Key Points• Genome of the saprobiotic basal fungus C. heterosporus was sequenced and analyzed.• 394 CAZymes but no PL family genes were found and expression levels were determined.• CE12 and GH132 proteins may play roles in the pectin and plant material degradation.• A large number of P450s but few P450 families existed in the fungus.

Characterization of the active fragments of Spodoptera litura Lebocin-1

Insects can produce various antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) upon immune stimulation. One class of AMPs are characterized by their high proline content in certain fragments. They are generally called proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs). We previously reported the characterization of Spodoptera litura lebocin-1 (SlLeb-1), a PrAMP proprotein. Preliminary studies with synthetic polypeptides showed that among the four deductive active fragments, the C-terminal fragment SlLeb-1 (124-158) showed strong antibacterial activities. Here, we further characterized the antibacterial and antifungal activities of 124-158 and its four subfragments: 124-155, 124-149, 127-158, and 135-158. Only 124-158 and 127-158 could agglutinate bacteria, while 124-158 and four subfragments all could agglutinate Beauveria bassiana spores. Confocal microscopy showed that fluorescent peptides were located on the microbial surface. Fragment 135-158 lost activity completely against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and partially against Bacillus subtilis. Only 124-149 showed low activity against Serratia marcescens. Negative staining, transmission, and scanning electron microscopy of 124-158 treated bacteria showed different morphologies. Flow cytometry analysis of S. aureus showed that 124-158 and four subfragments changed bacterial subpopulations and caused an increase of DNA content. These results indicate that active fragments of SlLeb-1 may have diverse antimicrobial effects against different microbes. This study may provide an insight into the development of novel antimicrobial agents.

Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Prediction of Long Non-coding RNAs Involved in the Heat Stress Response in Metarhizium robertsii

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a significant role in stress responses. To date, only a few studies have reported the role of lncRNAs in insect-pathogenic fungi. Here, we report a genome-wide transcriptional analysis of lncRNAs produced in response to heat stress in Metarhizium robertsii, a model insect-pathogenic fungus, using strand-specific RNA sequencing. A total of 1655 lncRNAs with 1742 isoforms were identified, of which 1081 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs were characterized as being heat responsive. By characterizing their genomic structures and expression patterns, we found that the lncRNAs possessed shorter transcripts, fewer exons, and lower expression levels than the protein-coding genes in M. robertsii. Furthermore, target prediction analysis of the lncRNAs revealed thousands of potential DE lncRNA–messenger RNA (mRNA) pairs, among which 5381 pairs function in the cis-regulatory mode. Further pathway enrichment analysis of the corresponding cis-regulated target genes showed that the targets were significantly enriched in the following biological pathways: the Hippo signaling pathway and cell cycle. This finding suggested that these DE lncRNAs control the expression of their corresponding neighboring genes primarily through environmental information processing and cellular processes. Moreover, only 26 trans-regulated lncRNA–mRNA pairs were determined. In addition, among the targets of heat-responsive lncRNAs, two classic genes that may be involved in the response to heat stress were also identified, including hsp70 (XM_007821830 and XM_007825705). These findings expand our knowledge of lncRNAs as important regulators of the response to heat stress in filamentous fungi, including M. robertsii.

The polyubiquitin gene MrUBI4 is required for conidiation, conidial germination, and stress tolerance in the filamentous fungus Metarhizium robertsii

The polyubiquitin gene is a highly conserved open reading frame that encodes different numbers of tandem ubiquitin repeats from different species, which play important roles in different biological processes. Metarhizium robertsii is a fungal entomopathogen that is widely applied in the biological control of pest insects. However, it is unclear whether the polyubiquitin gene is required for fungal development, stress tolerance, and virulence in the entomopathogenic fungus. In the present study, the polyubiquitin gene (MrUBI4, MAA_02160) was functionally characterized via gene deletion in M. robertsii. Compared to the control strains, the MrUBI4 deletion mutant showed delayed conidial germination and significantly decreased conidial yields (39% of the wild-type 14 days post-incubation). Correspondingly, the transcript levels of several genes from the central regulatory pathways associated with conidiation, including brlA, abaA, and wetA, were significantly downregulated, which indicated that MrUBI4 played an important role in asexual sporulation. Deletion of MrUBI4 especially resulted in increased sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) and heat-shock stress based on conidial germination analysis between mutant and control strains. The significant increase in sensitivity to heat-shock was accompanied with reduced transcript levels of genes related to heat-shock protein (hsp), trehalose, and mannitol accumulation (tps, tpp, nth, and mpd) in the MrUBI4 deletion mutant. Deletion of MrUBI4 has no effect on fungal virulence. Altogether, MrUBI4 is involved in the regulation of conidiation, conidial germination, UV stress, and heat-shock response in M. robertsii.

Robust Transcriptional Response to Heat Shock Impacting Diverse Cellular Processes despite Lack of Heat Shock Factor in Microsporidia

The majority of fungal species prefer the 12° to 30°C range, and relatively few species tolerate temperatures higher than 35°C. Our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the ability of some species to grow at higher temperatures is incomplete. Nosema ceranae is an obligate intracellular fungal parasite that infects honey bees and can cause individual mortality and contribute to colony collapse. Despite a reduced genome, this species is strikingly thermotolerant, growing optimally at the colony temperature of 35°C. In characterizing the heat shock response (HSR) in N. ceranae, we found that this and other microsporidian species have lost the transcriptional regulator HSF and possess a reduced set of putative core HSF1-dependent HSR target genes. Despite these losses, N. ceranae demonstrates robust upregulation of the remaining HSR target genes after heat shock. In addition, thermal stress leads to alterations in genes involved in various metabolic pathways, ribosome biogenesis and translation, and DNA repair. These results provide important insight into the stress responses of microsporidia. Such a new understanding will allow new comparisons with other pathogenic fungi and potentially enable the discovery of novel treatment strategies for microsporidian infections affecting food production and human health.IMPORTANCE We do not fully understand why some fungal species are able to grow at temperatures approaching mammalian body temperature. Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium, is a type of fungal parasite that infects honey bees and grows optimally at the colony temperature of 35°C despite possessing cellular machinery for responding to heat stress that is notably simpler than that of other fungi. We find that N. ceranae demonstrates a robust and broad response to heat shock. These results provide important insight into the stress responses of this type of fungus, allow new comparisons with other pathogenic fungi, and potentially enable the discovery of novel treatment strategies for this type of fungus.

Transcriptome analysis reveals molecular mechanisms of sclerotial development in the rice sheath blight pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA

Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA is a soil-borne necrotrophic pathogen that causes devastating rice sheath blight disease in rice-growing regions worldwide. Sclerotia play an important role in the life cycle of R. solani AG1-IA. In this study, RNA sequencing was used to investigate the transcriptomic dynamics of sclerotial development (SD) of R. solani AG1-IA. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were performed to investigate the functions and pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Six cDNA libraries were generated, and more than 300 million clean reads were obtained and assembled into 15,100 unigenes. In total, 12,575 differentially expressed genes were identified and 34.62% (4353) were significantly differentially expressed with a FDR ≤ 0.01 and |log₂Ratio| ≥ 1, which were enriched into eight profiles using Short Time-series Expression Miner. Furthermore, KEGG and gene ontology analyses suggest the DEGs were significantly enriched in several biological processes and pathways, including binding and catalytic functions, biosynthesis of ribosomes, and other biological functions. Further annotation of the DEGs using the Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) database found most DEGs were involved in amino acid transport and metabolism, as well as energy production and conversion. Furthermore, DEGs relevant to SD of R. solani AG1-IA were involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, melanin biosynthesis, ubiquitin processes, autophagy, and reactive oxygen species metabolism. The gene expression profiles of 10 randomly selected DEGs were validated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR and were consistent with the dynamics in transcript abundance identified by RNA sequencing. The data provide a high-resolution map of gene expression during SD, a key process contributing to the pathogenicity of this devastating pathogen. In addition, this study provides a useful resource for further studies on the genomics of R. solani AG1-IA and other Rhizoctonia species.

MrArk1, an actin-regulating kinase gene, is required for endocytosis and involved in sustaining conidiation capacity and virulence in Metarhizium robertsii

Actin-regulating kinase (Ark) plays an important role in controlling endocytosis, which has been shown to be involved in the development and virulence of several fungal pathogens. However, it remains unclear whether Ark1 is required for the development and pathogenicity of an entomopathogenic fungus. Here, MrArk1 (MAA_03415), a homologue of yeast Ark1, was characterized in the insect pathogenic fungus, Metarhizium robertsii. Disruption of MrArk1 led to defects in endocytosis and a marked reduction (58%) in conidiation capacity. The reduced conidiation level was accompanied by repression of several key conidiation-related genes, including brlA, abaA, and wetA. Additionally, the deletion mutant showed a significant decrease in its tolerance to heat shock, but not to UV-B irradiation. Bioassays demonstrated attenuated virulence for the deletion mutant against Galleria mellonella via normal cuticle infection, accompanied by suppressed appressorium formation and reduced transcript levels of several genes involved in cuticle penetration. Taken together, our results indicate that MrArk1 is involved in the heat tolerance, sporulation, and virulence of M. robertsii, and thus is an important factor for sustaining the fungal potential against insect pests.

MrSVP, a secreted virulence-associated protein, contributes to thermotolerance and virulence of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii

Background

Metarhizium robertsii, a widely distributed insect pathogen, is presently used as a natural alternative to chemical insecticides. Unfortunately, its worldwide commercial use has been restricted by a short shelf life and inconsistencies in virulence. In our previous study, a gene (GenBank accession number EFZ01626) was found to be significantly upregulated in heat-treated conidia. In the present study, this gene was characterized via gene disruption and complementation strategies.

Results

The gene (amplified by rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR) was 1219 bp long and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 777 bp. It encoded a protein of 234 amino acid residues with a 26-residue signal peptide. Bioinformatics analyses did not identify conserved functional domains; therefore, it was assumed to be a secreted virulence-associated protein according to its signal peptide and bioassay results. We found that the conidial germination rate of the ΔMrSVP mutant fungi dramatically decreased after heat shock treatment in a thermotolerance test. In addition, transcription levels of all tested heat shock–related genes were significantly lower in the mutant than in the wild type. We also demonstrated that the mean lethal time to death (LT₅₀) of ΔMrSVP significantly increased relative to the wild type in insect bioassays (both topical inoculation and injection) involving Galleria mellonella. Moreover, similar rates of appressorium formation between ΔMrSVP and the wild type—and the significantly different expression of virulence-related genes such as acid trehalase and sucrose nonfermenting protein kinase in the haemocoel after injection—revealed that MrSVP is required for virulence in the insect haemocoel.

Conclusions

Overall, our data suggest that the Mrsvp gene contributes to thermotolerance and virulence of M. robertsii. Furthermore, this gene is deeply involved in the mycosis of insect cadavers and in immune escape rather than insect cuticle penetration during infection.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1396-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Differential Functions of Two Metalloproteases, Mrmep1 and Mrmep2, in Growth, Sporulation, Cell Wall Integrity, and Virulence in the Filamentous Fungus Metarhizium robertsii

The Metarhizium genus of filamentous entomopathogenic fungi plays a pivotal role in regulating insect populations. Metalloproteases (MEPs) are a widely distributed and diverse family of hydrolytic enzymes that are important toxicity factors in the interactions between fungi and their hosts. Herein, we characterized two MEPs, Mrmep1 and Mrmep2, in Metarhizium robertsii using gene deletion. Growth rates of the resulting ΔMrmep1 and ΔMrmep2 mutants decreased by 16.2 and 16.5%, respectively, relative to the wild-type (WT) strain. Both mutants were less sensitive to cell wall-perturbing agents, sodium dodecyl sulfate and Congo red than the WT strain, whereas did not show any obvious changes in fungal sensitivity to ultraviolet B irradiation or heat stress. The conidial yield of ΔMrmep1, ΔMrmep2, and ΔMrmep1ΔMrmep2 mutants decreased by 56.0, 23, and 53%, respectively. Insect bioassay revealed that median lethal time values against Galleria mellonella increased by 25.5% (ΔMrmep1), 19% (ΔMrmep2), and 28.8% (ΔMrmep1ΔMrmep2) compared with the WT strain at a concentration of 1 × 10⁷ conidia mL^-1, suggesting attenuated fungal virulence in the ΔMrmep1, ΔMrmep2, and ΔMrmep1ΔMrmep2 strains. During fungal infection, transcription levels of Mrmep1 was 1.6-fold higher than Mrmep2 at 36 h post inoculation. Additionally, transcription levels of gallerimycin gene were 1.2-fold, 2.18-fold, and 2.5-fold higher in insects infected with the ΔMrmep1, ΔMrmep2, or ΔMrmep1ΔMrmep2 mutant than those infected with the WT strain, respectively. Our findings suggest that Mrmep1 and Mrmep2 are differentially contributed to the growth, sporulation, cell wall integrity, and virulence of M. robertsii.

iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of conidia and mycelium in the filamentous fungus Metarhizium robertsii

Metarhizium robertsii is widely applied in biological control via conidia application. To clarify the proteomic differences between conidia and mycelia and explore the underlying mechanisms of conidia as a unit responsible for dispersal and environmental stress, we carried out an iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation)-based quantitative proteomic analysis for two developmental stages from M. robertsii. A total of 2052 proteins were detected, and 90 showed differential protein abundance between the conidia and mycelia. These 90 proteins were primarily associated with stress resistance, amino acid and protein metabolism, and energy metabolism. Further bioinformatics analysis showed that these proteins could be mapped to 52 pathways, five of which were significantly enriched after mapping to KEGG pathways. Interestingly, many proteins involved in the significantly enriched pathway of peroxisome, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, including catalase, peroxisomal membrane anchor protein, formate dehydrogenase and isocitrate lyase, were identified with higher abundance in conidia. The results deepened our understanding of the conidia proteome in M. robertsii and provide a basis for further exploration for improving the efficiency of the fungi as biocontrol agents.

De novo transcriptome sequencing and comprehensive analysis of the heat stress response genes in the basidiomycetes fungus Ganoderma lucidum

Ganoderma lucidum is a valuable basidiomycete with numerous pharmacological compounds, which is widely consumed throughout China. We previously found that the polysaccharide content of Ganoderma lucidum fruiting bodies could be significantly improved by 45.63% with treatment of 42 °C heat stress (HS) for 2 h. To further investigate genes involved in HS response and explore the mechanisms of HS regulating the carbohydrate metabolism in Ganoderma lucidum, high-throughput RNA-Seq was conducted to analyse the difference between control and heat-treated mycelia at transcriptome level. We sequenced six cDNA libraries with three from control group (mycelia cultivated at 28 °C) and three from heat-treated group (mycelia subjected to 42 °C for 2 h). A total of 99,899 transcripts were generated using Trinity method and 59,136 unigenes were annotated by seven public databases. Among them, 2790 genes were identified to be differential expressed genes (DEGs) under HS condition, which included 1991 up-regulated and 799 down-regulated. 176 DEGs were then manually classified into five main responsive-related categories according to their putative functions and possible metabolic pathways. These groups include stress resistance-related factors; protein assembly, transportation and degradation; signal transduction; carbohydrate metabolism and energy provision-related process; other related functions, suggesting that a series of metabolic pathways in Ganoderma lucidum are activated by HS and the response mechanism involves a complex molecular network which needs further study. Remarkably, 48 DEGs were found to regulate carbohydrate metabolism, both in carbohydrate hydrolysis for energy provision and polysaccharide synthesis. In summary, this comprehensive transcriptome analysis will provide enlarged resource for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms of basidiomycete under HS condition.

Functional Analysis of Mating Type Genes and Transcriptome Analysis during Fruiting Body Development of Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea is a plant-pathogenic fungus producing apothecia as sexual fruiting bodies. To study the function of mating type (MAT) genes, single-gene deletion mutants were generated in both genes of the MAT1-1 locus and both genes of the MAT1-2 locus. Deletion mutants in two MAT genes were entirely sterile, while mutants in the other two MAT genes were able to develop stipes but never formed an apothecial disk. Little was known about the reprogramming of gene expression during apothecium development. We analyzed transcriptomes of sclerotia, three stages of apothecium development (primordia, stipes, and apothecial disks), and ascospores by RNA sequencing. Ten secondary metabolite gene clusters were upregulated at the onset of sexual development and downregulated in ascospores released from apothecia. Notably, more than 3,900 genes were differentially expressed in ascospores compared to mature apothecial disks. Among the genes that were upregulated in ascospores were numerous genes encoding virulence factors, which reveals that ascospores are transcriptionally primed for infection prior to their arrival on a host plant. Strikingly, the massive transcriptional changes at the initiation and completion of the sexual cycle often affected clusters of genes, rather than randomly dispersed genes. Thirty-five clusters of genes were jointly upregulated during the onset of sexual reproduction, while 99 clusters of genes (comprising >900 genes) were jointly downregulated in ascospores. These transcriptional changes coincided with changes in expression of genes encoding enzymes participating in chromatin organization, hinting at the occurrence of massive epigenetic regulation of gene expression during sexual reproduction.IMPORTANCE Fungal fruiting bodies are formed by sexual reproduction. We studied the development of fruiting bodies ("apothecia") of the ubiquitous plant-pathogenic ascomycete Botrytis cinerea The role of mating type genes in apothecium development was investigated by targeted mutation. Two genes are essential for the initiation of sexual development; mutants in these genes are sterile. Two other genes were not essential for development of stipes; however, they were essential for stipes to develop a disk and produce sexual ascospores. We examined gene expression profiles during apothecium development, as well as in ascospores sampled from apothecia. We provide the first study ever of the transcriptome of pure ascospores in a filamentous fungus. The expression of numerous genes involved in plant infection was induced in the ascospores, implying that ascospores are developmentally primed for infection before their release from apothecia.

Genes involved in Beauveria bassiana infection to Galleria mellonella

The ascomycete fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of hundreds of insect species and is commercially produced as an environmentally friendly mycoinsecticide. Many genes involved in fungal insecticide infection have been identified but few have been further explored. In this study, we constructed three transcriptomes of B. bassiana at 24, 48 and 72 h post infection of insect pests (BbI) or control (BbC). There were 3148, 3613 and 4922 genes differentially expressed at 24, 48 and 72 h post BbI/BbC infection, respectively. A large number of genes and pathways involved in infection were identified. To further analyze those genes, expression patterns across different infection stages (0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 84 h) were studied using quantitative RT-PCR. This analysis showed that the infection-related genes could be divided into four patterns: highly expressed throughout the whole infection process (thioredoxin 1); highly expressed during early stages of infection but lowly expressed after the insect death (adhesin protein Mad1); lowly expressed during early infection but highly expressed after insect death (cation transporter, OpS13); or lowly expressed across the entire infection process (catalase protein). The data provide novel insights into the insect-pathogen interaction and help to uncover the molecular mechanisms involved in fungal infection of insect pests.

Ribosome Profiling Reveals Genome-wide Cellular Translational Regulation upon Heat Stress in Escherichia coli

Heat shock response is a classical stress-induced regulatory system in bacteria, characterized by extensive transcriptional reprogramming. To compare the impact of heat stress on the transcriptome and translatome in Escherichia coli, we conducted ribosome profiling in parallel with RNA-Seq to investigate the alterations in transcription and translation efficiency when E. coli cells were exposed to a mild heat stress (from 30 °C to 45 °C). While general changes in ribosome footprints correlate with the changes of mRNA transcripts upon heat stress, a number of genes show differential changes at the transcription and translation levels. Translation efficiency of a few genes that are related to environment stimulus response is up-regulated, and in contrast, some genes functioning in mRNA translation and amino acid biosynthesis are down-regulated at the translation level in response to heat stress. Moreover, our ribosome occupancy data suggest that in general ribosomes accumulate remarkably in the starting regions of ORFs upon heat stress. This study provides additional insights into bacterial gene expression in response to heat stress, and suggests the presence of stress-induced but yet-to-be characterized cellular regulatory mechanisms of gene expression at translation level.

De novo transcriptome sequencing of Isaria cateniannulata and comparative analysis of gene expression in response to heat and cold stresses

Isaria cateniannulata is a very important and virulent entomopathogenic fungus that infects many insect pest species. Although I. cateniannulata is commonly exposed to extreme environmental temperature conditions, little is known about its molecular response mechanism to temperature stress. Here, we sequenced and de novo assembled the transcriptome of I. cateniannulata in response to high and low temperature stresses using Illumina RNA-Seq technology. Our assembly encompassed 17,514 unigenes (mean length = 1,197 bp), in which 11,445 unigenes (65.34%) showed significant similarities to known sequences in NCBI non-redundant protein sequences (Nr) database. Using digital gene expression analysis, 4,483 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified after heat treatment, including 2,905 up-regulated genes and 1,578 down-regulated genes. Under cold stress, 1,927 DEGs were identified, including 1,245 up-regulated genes and 682 down-regulated genes. The expression patterns of 18 randomly selected candidate DEGs resulting from quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were consistent with their transcriptome analysis results. Although DEGs were involved in many pathways, we focused on the genes that were involved in endocytosis: In heat stress, the pathway of clathrin-dependent endocytosis (CDE) was active; however at low temperature stresses, the pathway of clathrin-independent endocytosis (CIE) was active. Besides, four categories of DEGs acting as temperature sensors were observed, including cell-wall-major-components-metabolism-related (CWMCMR) genes, heat shock protein (Hsp) genes, intracellular-compatible-solutes-metabolism-related (ICSMR) genes and glutathione S-transferase (GST). These results enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of I. cateniannulata in response to temperature stresses and provide a valuable resource for the future investigations.

Suppression of a methionine synthase by calmodulin under environmental stress in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

Methionine synthase (MetE, EC 2.1.1.14) catalyses the final step in the methionine biosynthetic pathway. Methionine biosynthesis plays a major role in protein biogenesis and is the source of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), the universal donor of methyl groups. In this study, we demonstrated that BbMetE acts as a typical MetE enzyme in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. In addition, we found that BbMetE binds to calmodulin (CaM) in vitro and in vivo. The functional role of CaM binding to BbMetE was to negatively regulate BbMetE activity in B. bassiana. Our proton-nuclear magnetic resonance data revealed that CaM inhibitor W-7 increases methionine content in B. bassiana, suggesting that CaM negatively regulates the BbMetE activity. Environmental stress stimuli such as salt, H₂ O₂ and heat suppressed BbMetE activity in B. bassiana. W-7 reversed this effect, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism is mediated through stimulation of CaM activity. Therefore, this work suggests that BbMetE plays an important role in methionine biosynthesis, which is mediated by environmental stress stimuli via the CaM signalling pathway.

Dicer and Argonaute Genes Involved in RNA Interference in the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium robertsii

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene-silencing mechanism that plays an important role in gene regulation in a number of eukaryotic organisms. Two core components, Dicer and Argonaute, are central in the RNAi machinery. However, the physiological roles of Dicer and Argonaute in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii have remained unclear. Here, the roles of genes encoding Dicer (M. robertsiidcl1 [Mrdcl1] and Mrdcl2) and Argonaute (Mrago1 and Mrago2) proteins in M. robertsii were investigated. The results showed that the Dicer-like protein MrDCL2 and Argonaute protein MrAGO1 are the major components of the RNAi process occurring in M. robertsii The Dicer and Argonaute genes were not involved in the regulation of growth and diverse abiotic stress response in M. robertsii under the tested conditions. Moreover, our results showed that the Dicer and Argonaute gene mutants demonstrated reduced abilities to produce conidia, compared to the wild type (WT) and the gene-rescued mutant. In particular, the conidial yields in the Δdcl2 and Δago1 mutants were reduced by 55.8% and 59.3%, respectively, compared with those from the control strains. Subsequently, for the WT and Δdcl2 mutant strains, digital gene expression (DGE) profiling analysis of the stage of mycelium growth and conidiogenesis revealed that modest changes occur in development or metabolism processes, which may explain the reduction in conidiation in the Δdcl2 mutant. In addition, we further applied high-throughput sequencing technology to identify small RNAs (sRNAs) that are differentially expressed in the WT and the Δdcl2 mutant and found that 4 known microRNA-like small RNAs (milRNAs) and 8 novel milRNAs were Mrdcl2 dependent in M. robertsiiIMPORTANCE The identification and characterization of components in RNAi have contributed significantly to our understanding of the mechanism and functions of RNAi in eukaryotes. Here, we found that Dicer and Argonaute genes play an important role in regulating conidiation in M. robertsii Our study also demonstrates that diverse small RNA pathways exist in M. robertsii The study provides a theoretical platform for exploration of the functions of Dicer and Argonaute genes involved in RNAi in fungi.

DNA methyltransferases contribute to the fungal development, stress tolerance and virulence of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mark in mammals, plants, and fungi and depends on multiple genetic pathways involving de novo and maintenance DNA methyltransferases (DNMTases). Metarhizium robertsii, a model system for investigating insect-fungus interactions, has been used as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical insecticides. However, little is known concerning the molecular basis for DNA methylation. Here, we report on the roles of two DNMTases (MrRID and MrDIM-2) by characterizing ΔMrRID, ΔMrDIM-2, and ΔRID/ΔDIM-2 mutants. The results showed that approximately 71, 10, and 8% of ^mC sites remained in the ΔMrRID, ΔMrDIM-2, and ΔRID/ΔDIM-2 strains, respectively, compared with the wild-type (WT) strain. Further analysis showed that MrRID regulates the specificity of DNA methylation and MrDIM-2 is responsible for most DNA methylation, implying an interaction or cooperation between MrRID and MrDIM-2 for DNA methylation. Moreover, the ΔMrDIM-2 and ΔRID/ΔDIM-2 strains showed more defects in radial growth and conidial production compared to the WT. Under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation or heat stress, an obvious reduction in spore viability was observed for all the mutant strains compared to the WT. The spore median lethal times (LT₅₀s) for the ΔMrDIM-2 and ΔRID/ΔDIM-2 strains in the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, were decreased by 47.7 and 65.9%, respectively, which showed that MrDIM-2 is required for full fungal virulence. Our data advances the understanding of the function of DNMTase in entomopathogenic fungi, which should contribute to future epigenetic investigations in fungi.

Transcriptome and Multivariable Data Analysis of Corynebacterium glutamicum under Different Dissolved Oxygen Conditions in Bioreactors

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important factor in the fermentation process of Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is a widely used aerobic microbe in bio-industry. Herein, we described RNA-seq for C. glutamicum under different DO levels (50%, 30% and 0%) in 5 L bioreactors. Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) models were used to analyze the RNA-seq and metabolism data to investigate the global effect of DO on the transcriptional distinction of the substance and energy metabolism of C. glutamicum. The results showed that there were 39 and 236 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under the 50% and 0% DO conditions, respectively, compared to the 30% DO condition. Key genes and pathways affected by DO were analyzed, and the result of the MVDA and RNA-seq revealed that different DO levels in the fermenter had large effects on the substance and energy metabolism and cellular redox balance of C. glutamicum. At low DO, the glycolysis pathway was up-regulated, and TCA was shunted by the up-regulation of the glyoxylate pathway and over-production of amino acids, including valine, cysteine and arginine. Due to the lack of electron-acceptor oxygen, 7 genes related to the electron transfer chain were changed, causing changes in the intracellular ATP content at 0% and 30% DO. The metabolic flux was changed to rebalance the cellular redox. This study applied deep sequencing to identify a wealth of genes and pathways that changed under different DO conditions and provided an overall comprehensive view of the metabolism of C. glutamicum. The results provide potential ways to improve the oxygen tolerance of C. glutamicum and to modify the metabolic flux for amino acid production and heterologous protein expression.

The mechanism of improved intracellular organic selenium and glutathione contents in selenium-enriched Candida utilis by acid stress

Batch culture of Candida utilis CCTCC M 209298 for the preparation of selenium (Se)-enriched yeast was carried out under different pH conditions, and maximal intracellular organic Se and glutathione (GSH) contents were obtained in a moderate acid stress environment (pH 3.5). In order to elucidate the physiological mechanism of improved performance of Se-enriched yeast by acid stress, assays of the key enzymes involved in GSH biosynthesis and determinations of energy supply and regeneration were performed. The results indicated that moderate acid stress increased the activity of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase and the ratios of NADH/NAD⁺ and ATP/ADP, although no significant changes in intracellular pH were observed. In addition, the molecular mechanism of moderate acid stress favoring the improvement of Se-yeast performance was revealed by comparing whole transcriptomes of yeast cells cultured at pH 3.5 and 5.5. Comparative analysis of RNA-Seq data indicated that 882 genes were significantly up-regulated by moderate acid stress. Functional annotation of the up-regulated genes based on gene ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) pathway showed that these genes are involved in ATP synthesis and sulfur metabolism, including the biosynthesis of methionine, cysteine, and GSH in yeast cells. Increased intracellular ATP supply and more amounts of sulfur-containing substances in turn contributed to Na₂SeO₃ assimilation and biotransformation, which ultimately improved the performance of the Se-enriched C. utilis.

Heat Stress Modulates Mycelium Growth, Heat Shock Protein Expression, Ganoderic Acid Biosynthesis, and Hyphal Branching of Ganoderma lucidum via Cytosolic Ca2

Heat stress (HS) influences the growth and development of organisms. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of how organisms sense HS and respond to it is required. Ganoderma lucidum, a higher basidiomycete with bioactive secondary metabolites, has become a potential model system due to the complete sequencing of its genome, transgenic systems, and reliable reverse genetic tools. In this study, we found that HS inhibited mycelium growth, reduced hyphal branching, and induced the accumulation of ganoderic acid biosynthesis and heat shock proteins (HSPs) in G. lucidum Our data showed that HS induced a significant increase in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. Further evidence showed that Ca(2+) might be a factor in the HS-mediated regulation of hyphal branching, ganoderic acid (GA) biosynthesis, and the accumulation of HSPs. Our results further showed that the calcium-permeable channel gene (cch)-silenced and phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase gene (plc)-silenced strains reduced the HS-induced increase in HSP expression compared with that observed for the wild type (WT). This study demonstrates that cytosolic Ca(2+) participates in heat shock signal transduction and regulates downstream events in filamentous fungi.

IMPORTANCE

Ganoderma lucidum, a higher basidiomycete with bioactive secondary metabolites, has become a potential model system for evaluating how environmental factors regulate the development and secondary metabolism of basidiomycetes. Heat stress (HS) is an important environmental challenge. In this study, we found that HS inhibited mycelium growth, reduced hyphal branching, and induced HSP expression and ganoderic acid biosynthesis in G. lucidum Further evidence showed that Ca(2+) might be a factor in the HS-mediated regulation of hyphal branching, GA biosynthesis, and the accumulation of HSPs. This study demonstrates that cytosolic Ca(2+) participates in heat shock signal transduction and regulates downstream events in filamentous fungi. Our research offers a new way to understand the mechanism underlying the physiological and metabolic responses to other environmental factors in G. lucidum This research may also provide the basis for heat shock signal transduction studies of other fungi.

Cold stress promoting a psychrotolerant bacterium Pseudomonas fragi P121 producing trehaloase

A newly isolated Pseudomonas fragi P121 strain in a soil sample taken from the Arctic Circle is able to produce trehalose. The P121 strain was able to grow at temperatures ranging from 4 to 25 °C, had an optimum pH of 6.5, and an optimum salt concentration of 2 %. The P121 strain had a survival rate of 29.1 % after being repeatedly frozen and thawed five times, and a survival rate of 78.9 % when placed in physiological saline for 15 days at 20 °C after cold shock, which is far higher than the type strain Pseudomonas fragi ATCC 4973. The P121 strain could produce 2.89 g/L trehalose, which was 18.6 % of dry cell weight within 52 h in a 25 L fermention tank using the malt extract prepared from barley as medium at 15 °C, while only 11.8 % of dry cell weight at 20 °C. These results suggested that cold stress promoted the strain producing trehalose. It is the first reported cold-tolerant bacterium that produces trehalose, which may protect cells against the cold environment.

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in the sexual stage of the insect pathogenic fungus Cordyceps militaris

DNA methylation is a basic epigenetic mechanism found in eukaryotes, but its patterns and roles vary significantly among diverse taxa. In fungi, DNA methylation has various effects on diverse biological processes. However, its function in the sexual development of fungi remains unclear. Cordyceps militaris, readily performs sexual reproduction and thus provides a remarkably rich model for understanding epigenetic processes in sexual development. Here, we surveyed the methylome of C. militaris at single-base resolution to assess DNA methylation patterns during sexual development using genomic bisulfite sequencing (BS-Seq). The results showed that approximately 0.4 % of cytosines are methylated, similar to the DNA methylation level (0.39 %) during asexual development. Importantly, we found that DNA methylation in the fungi undergoes global reprogramming during fungal development. Moreover, RNA-Seq analysis indicated that the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) have no correlation with the genes that have roles during fungal sexual development in C. militaris. These results provide a comprehensive characterization of DNA methylation in the sexual development of C. militaris, which will contribute to future investigations of epigenetics in fungi.

Regulation of a phenylalanine ammonia lyase (BbPAL) by calmodulin in response to environmental changes in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, E.C. 4.3.1.5) catalyses the deamination of L -phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid and ammonia, facilitating a critical step in the phenylpropanoid pathway that produces a variety of secondary metabolites. In this study, we isolated BbPAL gene in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. According to multiple sequence alignment, homology modelling and in vitro PAL activity, we demonstrated that BbPAL acts as a typical PAL enzyme in B. bassiana. BbPAL interacted with calmodulin (CaM) in vitro and in vivo, indicating that BbPAL is a novel CaM-binding protein. The functional role of CaM in BbPAL action was to negatively regulate the BbPAL activity in B. bassiana. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that L -phenylalanine was reduced and trans-cinnamic acid was increased in response to the CaM inhibitor W-7. Dark conditions suppressed BbPAL activity in B. bassiana, compared with light. In addition, heat and cold stresses inhibited BbPAL activity in B. bassiana. Interestingly, these negative effects of BbPAL activity by dark, heat and cold conditions were recovered by W-7 treatment, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism is mediated through stimulation of CaM activity. Therefore, this work suggests that BbPAL plays a role in the phenylpropanoid pathway mediated by environmental stimuli via the CaM signalling pathway.

Genome sequence, comparative analysis, and evolutionary insights into chitinases of entomopathogenic fungus Hirsutella thompsonii

Hirsutella thompsonii (Ht) is a fungal pathogen of acarines and the primary cause of epizootics among mites. The draft genomes of two isolates of Ht (MTCC 3556: Ht3, 34.6 Mb and MTCC 6686: Ht6, 34.7 Mb) are presented and compared with the genomes of Beauveria bassiana (Bb) ARSEF 2860 and Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Os) CO18. Comparative analysis of carbohydrate active enzymes, pathogen–host interaction genes, metabolism-associated genes, and genes involved in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in the four genomes was carried out. Reduction in gene family sizes in Ht3 and Os as compared with Ht6 and Bb is observed. Analysis of the mating type genes in Ht reveals the presence of MAT idiomorphs which is suggestive of cryptic sexual traits in Ht. We further identify and classify putative chitinases that may function as virulence factors in fungal entomopathogens due to their role in degradation of arthropod cuticle.