Functional characterization of acetylglutamate synthase and phosphoribosylamine-glycine ligase genes in Gibberella zeae

A mitochondrial NAD/NADH kinase governs fungal virulence through an oxidative stress response and arginine biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum

NADP/NADPH plays an indispensable role in cellular metabolism, serving as a pivotal cofactor in numerous enzymatic processes involved in anabolic pathways, antioxidant defense, and the biosynthesis of essential cellular components. NAD/NADH kinases (NADKs) phosphorylate NAD/NADH, constituting the sole de novo synthetic pathway for NADP/NADPH generation. Despite the pivotal role of NADP/NADPH in cellular functions, the physiological role of NADK remains largely unexplored in filamentous fungi. In this study, we identified three putative NADKs in Fusarium graminearum-FgNadk1, FgNadk2, and FgNadk3-responsible for NAD/NADH phosphorylation. NADK-mediated formation of intracellular NADPH proved crucial for vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, and virulence. Specifically, FgNadk2, the mitochondrial NADK, played a role in oxidative stress resistance and the maintenance of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species levels. Moreover, the deletion of FgNADK2 resulted in arginine auxotrophy, contributing to the reduced fungal virulence. These findings underscore the necessity of mitochondrial NADK in fungal virulence in F. graminearum, revealing its involvement in mitochondrial redox homeostasis and the arginine biosynthetic pathway. This study provides critical insights into the interconnectedness of metabolic pathways essential for fungal growth, stress response, and pathogenicity.

An Efficient Strategy for Obtaining Mutants by Targeted Gene Deletion in Ophiostoma novo-ulmi

The dimorphic fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi is the highly aggressive pathogen responsible for the current, highly destructive, pandemic of Dutch elm disease (DED). Genome and transcriptome analyses of this pathogen previously revealed that a large set of genes expressed during dimorphic transition were also potentially related to plant infection processes, which seem to be regulated by molecular mechanisms different from those described in other dimorphic pathogens. Then, O. novo-ulmi can be used as a representative species to study the lifestyle of dimorphic pathogenic fungi that are not shared by the "model species" Candida albicans and Ustilago maydis. In order to gain better knowledge of molecular aspects underlying infection process and symptom induction by dimorphic fungi that cause vascular wilt disease, we developed a high-throughput gene deletion protocol for O. novo-ulmi. The protocol is based on transforming a Δmus52 O. novo-ulmi mutant impaired for non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) as the recipient strain, and transforming this strain with the latest version of OSCAR plasmids. The latter are used for generating deletion constructs containing the toxin-coding Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene which prevents ectopic integration of the T-DNA in Ophiostoma DNA. The frequency of gene deletion by homologous recombination (HR) at the ade1 locus associated with purine nucleotide biosynthesis was up to 77.8% in the Δmus52 mutant compared to 2% in the wild-type (WT). To validate the high efficiency of our deletion gene methodology we deleted ade7, which also belongs to the purine nucleotide pathway, as well as bct2, ogf1, and opf2 which encode fungal binuclear transcription factors (TFs). The frequency of gene replacement by HR for these genes reached up to 94%. We expect that our methodology combining the use of NHEJ deficient strains and OSCAR plasmids will function with similar high efficiencies for other O. novo-ulmi genes and other filamentous fungi.

Identification of factors involved in dimorphism and pathogenicity of Zymoseptoria tritici

A forward genetics approach was applied in order to investigate the molecular basis of morphological transition in the wheat pathogenic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. Z. tritici is a dimorphic plant pathogen displaying environmentally regulated morphogenetic transition between yeast-like and hyphal growth. Considering the infection mode of Z. tritici, the switching to hyphal growth is essential for pathogenicity allowing the fungus the host invasion through natural openings like stomata. We exploited a previously developed Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) to generate a mutant library by insertional mutagenesis including more than 10,000 random mutants. To identify genes involved in dimorphic switch, a plate-based screening system was established. With this approach eleven dimorphic switch deficient random mutants were recovered, ten of which exhibited a yeast-like mode of growth and one mutant predominantly growing filamentously, producing high amount of mycelium under different incubation conditions. Using genome walking approach previously established, the T-DNA integration sites were recovered and the disrupted genomic loci of corresponding mutants were identified and validated within reverse genetics approach. As prove of concept, two of the random mutants obtained were selected for further investigation using targeted gene inactivation. Both genes deduced were found to encode known factors, previously characterized in other fungi: Ssk1p being constituent of HOG pathway and Ade5,7p involved in de novo purine biosynthesis. The targeted mutant strains defective in these genes exhibit a drastically impaired virulence within infection assays on whole wheat plants. Moreover exploiting further physiological assays the predicted function for both gene products could be confirmed in concordance with conserved biological role of homologous proteins previously described in other fungal organisms.

Comparison of Fusarium graminearum Transcriptomes on Living or Dead Wheat Differentiates Substrate-Responsive and Defense-Responsive Genes

Fusarium graminearum is an opportunistic pathogen of cereals where it causes severe yield losses and concomitant mycotoxin contamination of the grains. The pathogen has mixed biotrophic and necrotrophic (saprophytic) growth phases during infection and the regulatory networks associated with these phases have so far always been analyzed together. In this study we compared the transcriptomes of fungal cells infecting a living, actively defending plant representing the mixed live style (pathogenic growth on living flowering wheat heads) to the response of the fungus infecting identical, but dead plant tissues (cold-killed flowering wheat heads) representing strictly saprophytic conditions. We found that the living plant actively suppressed fungal growth and promoted much higher toxin production in comparison to the identical plant tissue without metabolism suggesting that molecules signaling secondary metabolite induction are not pre-existing or not stable in the plant in sufficient amounts before infection. Differential gene expression analysis was used to define gene sets responding to the active or the passive plant as main impact factor and driver for gene expression. We correlated our results to the published F. graminearum transcriptomes, proteomes, and secretomes and found that only a limited number of in planta- expressed genes require the living plant for induction but the majority uses simply the plant tissue as signal. Many secondary metabolite (SM) gene clusters show a heterogeneous expression pattern within the cluster indicating that different genetic or epigenetic signals govern the expression of individual genes within a physically linked cluster. Our bioinformatic approach also identified fungal genes which were actively repressed by signals derived from the active plant and may thus represent direct targets of the plant defense against the invading pathogen.

MoARG1, MoARG5,6 and MoARG7 involved in arginine biosynthesis are essential for growth, conidiogenesis, sexual reproduction, and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae

Arginine is one of the most versatile amino acids in eukaryote cells, which plays important roles in a multitude of processes such as protein synthesis, nitrogen metabolism, nitric oxide (NO) and urea biosynthesis. The de novo arginine biosynthesis pathway is conserved among fungal kingdom, but poorly understood in plant pathogenic fungi. Here, we characterized the functions of three synthetic enzyme-encoding genes MoARG1, MoARG5,6, and MoARG7, which involved the seventh step, second-third step and fifth step of arginine biosynthesis in Magnaporthe oryzae, respectively. Deletion of MoARG1 or MoARG5,6, resulted in arginine auxotrophic mutants, which had a strict requirement for arginine on minimal medium (MM). Both ΔMoarg1 and ΔMoarg5,6 severely reduced in aerial hyphal growth, pigmentation, conidiogenesis, sexual reproduction and pathogenicity. Interestingly, like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, deletion of MoARG7 caused a leaky arginine auxotrophy, and attenuated pathogenicity. Limited appressorium-mediated penetration and restricted invasive hyphae growth in host cells are responsible for the severely attenuated pathogenicity of the Arg(-) mutants. Additionally, we monitored the NO generation during conidial germination and appressorial formation in both Arg(-) mutants and wild type, and demonstrated that NO generation may not occur via arginine-dependent pathway in M. oryzae. In summary, MoARG1, MoARG5,6, and MoARG7 are required for growth, conidiogenesis, sexual reproduction, and pathogenicity in M. oryzae.

Application of universal stress proteins in probing the dynamics of potent degraders in complex terephthalate metagenome

The culture-independent strategies to study microbial diversity and function have led to a revolution in environmental genomics, enabling fundamental questions about the distribution of microbes and their influence on bioremediation to be addressed. In this research we used the expression of universal stress proteins as a probe to determine the changes in degrading microbial population from a highly toxic terephthalate wastewater to a less toxic activated sludge bioreactor. The impact of relative toxicities was significantly elaborated at the levels of genus and species. The results indicated that 23 similar prokaryotic phyla were represented in both metagenomes irrespective of their relative abundance. Furthermore, the following bacteria taxa Micromonosporaceae, Streptomyces, Cyanothece sp. PCC 7822, Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius, Bacillus halodurans, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactococcus garvieae, Brucellaceae, Ralstonia solanacearum, Verminephrobacter eiseniae, Azoarcus, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Francisella tularensis, Methanothermus fervidus, and Methanocorpusculum labreanum were represented only in the activated sludge bioreactor. These highly dynamic microbes could serve as taxonomic biomarkers for toxic thresholds related to terephthalate and its derivatives. This paper, highlights the application of universal stress proteins in metagenomics analysis. Dynamics of microbial consortium of this nature can have future in biotechnological applications in bioremediation of toxic chemicals and radionuclides.

A genome-wide association study identifies genomic regions for virulence in the non-model organism Heterobasidion annosum s.s

The dense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) panels needed for genome wide association (GWA) studies have hitherto been expensive to establish and use on non-model organisms. To overcome this, we used a next generation sequencing approach to both establish SNPs and to determine genotypes. We conducted a GWA study on a fungal species, analysing the virulence of Heterobasidion annosum s.s., a necrotrophic pathogen, on its hosts Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris. From a set of 33,018 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 23 haploid isolates, twelve SNP markers distributed on seven contigs were associated with virulence (P<0.0001). Four of the contigs harbour known virulence genes from other fungal pathogens and the remaining three harbour novel candidate genes. Two contigs link closely to virulence regions recognized previously by QTL mapping in the congeneric hybrid H. irregulare × H. occidentale. Our study demonstrates the efficiency of GWA studies for dissecting important complex traits of small populations of non-model haploid organisms with small genomes.

ATP citrate lyase is required for normal sexual and asexual development in Gibberella zeae

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) citrate lyase (ACL) is a key enzyme in the production of cytosolic acetyl-CoA, which is crucial for de novo lipid synthesis and histone acetylation in mammalian cells. In this study, we characterized the mechanistic roles of ACL in the homothallic ascomycete fungus Gibberella zeae, which causes Fusarium head blight in major cereal crops. Deletion of ACL in the fungus resulted in a complete loss of self and female fertility as well as a reduction in asexual reproduction, virulence, and trichothecene production. When the wild-type strain was spermatized with the ACL deletion mutants, they produced viable ascospores, however ascospore delimitation was not properly regulated. Although lipid synthesis was not affected by ACL deletion, histone acetylation was dramatically reduced in the ACL deletion mutants during sexual development, suggesting that the defects in sexual reproduction were caused by the reduction in histone acetylation. This study is the first report demonstrating a link between sexual development and ACL-mediated histone acetylation in fungi.

Inadvertent gene silencing of argininosuccinate synthase (bcass1) in Botrytis cinerea by the pLOB1 vector system

For several years, researchers working on the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea and a number of other related fungi have routinely used the pLOB1 vector system, based on hygromycin resistance, under the control of the Aspergillus nidulans oliC promoter and what was reported to be the beta-tubulin (tubA) terminator. Recently, it has been demonstrated that this vector contains a 446-bp portion of the B. cinerea argininosuccinate synthase gene (bcass1) rather than the tubA terminator. As argininosuccinate synthase is essential for the production of L-arginine, inadvertent gene silencing of bcass1 may result in partial L-arginine auxotrophy and, indeed, may lead to altered phenotypes in planta. In this article, we report our findings relating to possible problems arising from this incorrect plasmid construction. As an absolute baseline, gene disruption of bcass1 was carried out and generated a strict auxotroph, unable to grow without exogenous arginine supplementation. The knockout displayed an alteration in host range in planta, showing a reduction in pathogenicity on strawberries, French bean leaves and tomatoes, but maintained wild-type growth on grape, which is in accordance with the reported arginine availability in such tissues. Deliberate gene silencing of bcass1 mirrored these effects, with strongly silenced lines showing reduced virulence. The degree of silencing as seen by partial auxotrophy was correlated with an observed reduction in virulence. We also showed that inadvertent silencing of bcass1 is possible when using the pLOB1 vector or derivatives thereof. Partial arginine auxotrophy and concomitant reductions in virulence were triggered in approximately 6% of transformants obtained when expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein, luciferase, monomeric red fluorescent protein or beta-glucuronidase using the pLOB1-based expression system, which inadvertently contains 446 bp of the bcass1 coding sequence. We recommend the testing of transformants obtained using this vector system for arginine auxotrophy in order to provide assurance that any observed effects on the development or virulence are a result of the desired genetic alteration rather than accidental bcass1 silencing.

Transducin beta-like gene FTL1 is essential for pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum

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.

GzSNF1 is required for normal sexual and asexual development in the ascomycete Gibberella zeae

The sucrose nonfermenting 1 (SNF1) protein kinase of yeast plays a central role in the transcription of glucose-repressible genes in response to glucose starvation. In this study, we deleted an ortholog of SNF1 from Gibberella zeae to characterize its functions by using a gene replacement strategy. The mycelial growth of deletion mutants (DeltaGzSNF1) was reduced by 21 to 74% on diverse carbon sources. The virulence of DeltaGzSNF1 mutants on barley decreased, and the expression of genes encoding cell-wall-degrading enzymes was reduced. The most distinct phenotypic changes were in sexual and asexual development. DeltaGzSNF1 mutants produced 30% fewer perithecia, which matured more slowly, and asci that contained one to eight abnormally shaped ascospores. Mutants in which only the GzSNF1 catalytic domain was deleted had the same phenotype changes as the DeltaGzSNF1 strains, but the phenotype was less extreme in the mutants with the regulatory domain deleted. In outcrosses between the DeltaGzSNF1 mutants, each perithecium contained approximately 70% of the abnormal ascospores, and approximately 50% of the asci showed unexpected segregation patterns in a single locus tested. The asexual spores of the DeltaGzSNF1 mutants were shorter and had fewer septa than those of the wild-type strain. The germination and nucleation of both ascospores and conidia were delayed in DeltaGzSNF1 mutants in comparison with those of the wild-type strain. GzSNF1 expression and localization depended on the developmental stage of the fungus. These results suggest that GzSNF1 is critical for normal sexual and asexual development in addition to virulence and the utilization of alternative carbon sources.

Functional analyses of heterotrimeric G protein G alpha and G beta subunits in Gibberella zeae

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.