The FgSRP1 SR-protein gene is important for plant infection and pre-mRNA processing in Fusarium graminearum

Dual Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Changes in Gene Expression in Both Cotton and Verticillium dahliae During the Infection Process

Cotton is often threatened by Verticillium wilt caused by V. dahliae. Understanding the molecular mechanism of V. dahlia-cotton interaction is important for the prevention of this disease. To analyze the transcriptome profiles in V. dahliae and cotton simultaneously, the strongly pathogenic strain Vd592 was inoculated into cotton, and the infected cotton roots at 36 h and 3 d post infection were subjected to dual RNA-seq analysis. For the V. dahliae, transcriptomic analysis identified 317 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) encoding classical secreted proteins, which were up-regulated at least at one time point during infection. The 317 DEGs included 126 carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZyme) and 108 small cysteine-rich protein genes. A pectinesterase gene (VDAG_01782) belonging to CAZyme, designated as VdPE1, was selected for functional validation. VdPE1 silencing by HIGS (host-induced gene silencing) resulted in reduced disease symptoms and the increased resistance of cotton to V. dahliae. For the cotton, transcriptomic analysis found that many DEGs involved in well-known disease resistance pathways (flavonoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signaling, and plant-pathogen interaction) as well as PTI (pattern-triggered immunity) and ETI (effector-triggered immunity) processes were significantly down-regulated in infected cotton roots. The dual RNA-seq data thus potentially connected the genes encoding secreted proteins to the pathogenicity of V. dahliae, and the genes were involved in some disease resistance pathways and PTI and ETI processes for the susceptibility of cotton to V. dahliae. These findings are helpful in the further characterization of candidate genes and breeding resistant cotton varieties via genetic engineering.

Alternative splicing of the conserved drug-resistant orthologue FpNcb2 is associated with its nuclear accumulation of products and full virulence of Fusarium pseudograminearum

BACKGROUND

Negative cofactor 2 NC2β (Ncb2 or Dr1) is the beta subunit of a conserved heterodimeric regulator of transcription negative cofactor 2 (NC2) complex that has been identified as key regulator of drug resistance in model fungi. However, its role in plant pathogens is still unclear.

RESULTS

We identified an NC2β orthologue, FpNcb2, in Fusarium pseudograminearum, which is not only a significant regulatory function in drug resistance, but also essential for growth, conidiation and penetration. Moreover, FpNcb2 undergoes alternative splicing which creates two mRNA isoforms. As a putative CCAAT binding protein, FpNcb2 concentrates in the nuclei, contributing to the expression of two spliced mRNA of FpNcb2 in hypha, conidiophores and conidia, with exception of FpNcb2ISOA in germlings. Expression of each spliced mRNA of FpNcb2 in Δfpncb2 mutant could full complement the defects on growth, conidiation and fungicides sensitivity to that of wild type. However, FpNcb2ISOA and FpNcb2ISOB have different effects on virulence. FpNcb2 acts as a regulator for the transcription of some genes encoding drug efflux and hydrolases.

CONCLUSION

Our analysis showed the existence of alternative mRNA splicing in the NC2β orthologue, which is associated with protein subcellular localization and fungal virulence. The further elucidation of the target genes of NC2β will provide insights into the potential regulation mechanisms in the antifungal resistance and pathogenesis of F. pseudograminearum. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

The spliceosome impacts morphogenesis in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans

At human body temperature, the fungal pathogen Candida albicans can transition from yeast to filamentous morphologies in response to host-relevant cues. Additionally, elevated temperatures encountered during febrile episodes can independently induce C. albicans filamentation. However, the underlying genetic pathways governing this developmental transition in response to elevated temperatures remain largely unexplored. Here, we conducted a functional genomic screen to unravel the genetic mechanisms orchestrating C. albicans filamentation specifically in response to elevated temperature, implicating 45% of genes associated with the spliceosome or pre-mRNA splicing in this process. Employing RNA-Seq to elucidate the relationship between mRNA splicing and filamentation, we identified greater levels of intron retention in filaments compared to yeast, which correlated with reduced expression of the affected genes. Intriguingly, homozygous deletion of a gene encoding a spliceosome component important for filamentation (PRP19) caused even greater levels of intron retention compared with wild type and displayed globally dysregulated gene expression. This suggests that intron retention is a mechanism for fine-tuning gene expression during filamentation, with perturbations of the spliceosome exacerbating this process and blocking filamentation. Overall, this study unveils a novel biological process governing C. albicans filamentation, providing new insights into the complex regulation of this key virulence trait.IMPORTANCEFungal pathogens such as Candida albicans can cause serious infections with high mortality rates in immunocompromised individuals. When C. albicans is grown at temperatures encountered during human febrile episodes, yeast cells undergo a transition to filamentous cells, and this process is key to its virulence. Here, we expanded our understanding of how C. albicans undergoes filamentation in response to elevated temperature and identified many genes involved in mRNA splicing that positively regulate filamentation. Through transcriptome analyses, we found that intron retention is a mechanism for fine-tuning gene expression in filaments, and perturbation of the spliceosome exacerbates intron retention and alters gene expression substantially, causing a block in filamentation. This work adds to the growing body of knowledge on the role of introns in fungi and provides new insights into the cellular processes that regulate a key virulence trait in C. albicans.

FgFAD12 Regulates Vegetative Growth, Pathogenicity and Linoleic Acid Biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as important components of lipids, play indispensable roles in the development of all organisms. ∆12 fatty acid desaturase (FAD12) is a speed-determining step in the biosynthesis of PUFAs. Here, we report the characterization of FAD12 in Fusarium graminearum, which is the prevalent agent of Fusarium head blight, a destructive plant disease worldwide. The results demonstrated that deletion of the FgFAD12 gene resulted in defects in vegetative growth, conidial germination and plant pathogenesis but not sexual reproduction. A fatty acid analysis further proved that the deletion of FgFAD12 restrained the reaction of oleic acid to linoleic acid, and a large amount of oleic acid was detected in the cells. Moreover, the ∆Fgfad12 mutant showed increased resistance to osmotic stress and reduced tolerance to oxidative stress. The expression of FgFAD12 did show a temperature-dependent manner, which was not affected at a low temperature of 10 °C when compared to 25 °C. RNA-seq analysis further demonstrated that most genes enriched in fatty acid metabolism, the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid degradation, steroid biosynthesis and fatty acid elongation pathways were significantly up-regulated in the ∆Fgfad12 mutants. Overall, our results indicate that FgFAD12 is essential for linoleic acid biosynthesis and plays an important role in the infection process of F. graminearum.

Advances in Understanding Fusarium graminearum: Genes Involved in the Regulation of Sexual Development, Pathogenesis, and Deoxynivalenol Biosynthesis

The wheat head blight disease caused by Fusarium graminearum is a major concern for food security and the health of both humans and animals. As a pathogenic microorganism, F. graminearum produces virulence factors during infection to increase pathogenicity, including various macromolecular and small molecular compounds. Among these virulence factors, secreted proteins and deoxynivalenol (DON) are important weapons for the expansion and colonization of F. graminearum. Besides the presence of virulence factors, sexual reproduction is also crucial for the infection process of F. graminearum and is indispensable for the emergence and spread of wheat head blight. Over the last ten years, there have been notable breakthroughs in researching the virulence factors and sexual reproduction of F. graminearum. This review aims to analyze the research progress of sexual reproduction, secreted proteins, and DON of F. graminearum, emphasizing the regulation of sexual reproduction and DON synthesis. We also discuss the application of new gene engineering technologies in the prevention and control of wheat head blight.

Genome-Wide Characterization of the RNA Exosome Complex in Relation to Growth, Development, and Pathogenicity of Fusarium graminearum

The RNA exosome complex is a conserved, multisubunit RNase complex that contributes to the processing and degradation of RNAs in mammalian cells. However, the roles of the RNA exosome in phytopathogenic fungi and how it relates to fungal development and pathogenicity remain unclear. Herein, we identified 12 components of the RNA exosome in the wheat fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. Live-cell imaging showed that all the components of the RNA exosome complex are localized in the nucleus. FgEXOSC1 and FgEXOSCA were successfully knocked out; they are both involved in the vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, and pathogenicity of F. graminearum. Moreover, deletion of FgEXOSC1 resulted in abnormal toxisomes, decreased deoxynivalenol (DON) production, and downregulation of the expression levels of DON biosynthesis genes. The RNA-binding domain and N-terminal region of FgExosc1 are required for its normal localization and functions. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) showed that the disruption of FgEXOSC1 resulted in differential expression of 3,439 genes. Genes involved in processing of noncoding RNA (ncRNA), rRNA and ncRNA metabolism, ribosome biogenesis, and ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis were significantly upregulated. Furthermore, subcellular localization, green fluorescent protein (GFP) pulldown, and coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) assays demonstrated that FgExosc1 associates with the other components of the RNA exosome to form the RNA exosome complex in F. graminearum. Deletion of FgEXOSC1 and FgEXOSCA reduced the relative expression of some of the other subunits of the RNA exosome. Deletion of FgEXOSC1 affected the localization of FgExosc4, FgExosc6, and FgExosc7. In summary, our study reveals that the RNA exosome is involved in vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, DON production, and pathogenicity of F. graminearum. IMPORTANCE The RNA exosome complex is the most versatile RNA degradation machinery in eukaryotes. However, little is known about how this complex regulates the development and pathogenicity of plant-pathogenic fungi. In this study, we systematically identified 12 components of the RNA exosome complex in Fusarium head blight fungus Fusarium graminearum and first unveiled their subcellular localizations and established their biological functions in relation to the fungal development and pathogenesis. All the RNA exosome components are localized in the nucleus. FgExosc1 and FgExoscA are both required for the vegetative growth, sexual reproduction, DON production and pathogenicity in F. graminearum. FgExosc1 is involved in ncRNA processing, rRNA and ncRNA metabolism process, ribosome biogenesis and ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis. FgExosc1 associates with the other components of RNA exosome complex and form the exosome complex in F. graminearum. Our study provides new insights into the role of the RNA exosome in regulating RNA metabolism, which is associated with fungal development and pathogenicity.

SUMOylation regulates pre-mRNA splicing to overcome DNA damage in fungi

Pathogenic fungi are subject to DNA damage stress derived from host immune responses during infection. Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) modification and precursor (pre)-mRNA splicing are both involved in DNA damage response (DDR). However, the mechanisms of how SUMOylation and splicing coordinated in DDR remain largely unknown. Combining with biochemical analysis, RNA-Seq method, and biological analysis, we report that SUMO pathway participates in DDR and virulence in Fusarium graminearum, a causal agent of Fusarium head blight of cereal crops world-wide. Interestingly, a key transcription factor FgSR is SUMOylated upon DNA damage stress. SUMOylation regulates FgSR nuclear-cytoplasmic partitioning and its phosphorylation by FgMec1, and promotes its interaction with chromatin remodeling complex SWI/SNF for activating the expression of DDR-related genes. Moreover, the SWI/SNF complex was found to further recruit splicing-related NineTeen Complex, subsequently modulates pre-mRNA splicing during DDR. Our findings reveal a novel function of SUMOylation in DDR by regulating a transcription factor to orchestrate gene expression and pre-mRNA splicing to overcome DNA damage during the infection of F. graminearum, which advances the understanding of the delicate regulation of DDR by SUMOylation in pathogenic fungi, and extends the knowledge of cooperation of SUMOylation and pre-mRNA splicing in DDR in eukaryotes.

The global regulator FpLaeB is required for the regulation of growth, development, and virulence in Fusarium pseudograminearum

Fusarium pseudograminearum is a soil-borne pathogen that is capable of causing a highly destructive crown disease in wheat. Secondary metabolites (SMs), especially deoxynivalenol (DON), are the primary virulence factors during infection. Here, we characterised the global regulator FpLaeB, an orthologue of LaeB protein function, to regulate the SM in Aspergillus nidulans. Through the utility of the gene targeting approach, we found that the vegetative growth of the FpLaeB deletion mutant was drastically reduced compared to that of the wild type. FpLaeB was also important for conidiation because the FpLaeB deletion mutant formed fewer conidia in induced medium. In addition, the sensitivity of the FpLaeB deletion mutant to the cell wall integrity inhibitor was decreased, while its growth was more severely inhibited by the cell membrane inhibitor sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) than that of the wild type. More importantly, the virulence was decreased when the FpLaeB deletion mutant was inoculated onto the wheat stem base or head. Through genome-wide gene expression profiling, FpLaeB was found to regulate several processes related to the above phenotypes such as the carbohydrate metabolic process, which is an integral and intrinsic component of membranes, especially SMs. Furthermore, the generation of DON was impaired in the FpLaeB deletion mutant via ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) assay. These results showed that FpLaeB plays an important role in the growth, development, and maintenance of the cell wall, and in membrane integrity. More importantly, FpLaeB is required for SMs and full virulence in F. pseudograminearum.

The rice blast fungus SR protein 1 regulates alternative splicing with unique mechanisms

Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins are well known as splicing factors in humans, model animals and plants. However, they are largely unknown in regulating pre-mRNA splicing of filamentous fungi. Here we report that the SR protein MoSrp1 enhances and suppresses alternative splicing in a model fungal plant pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Deletion of MoSRP1 caused multiple defects, including reduced virulence and thousands of aberrant alternative splicing events in mycelia, most of which were suppressed or enhanced intron splicing. A GUAG consensus bound by MoSrp1 was identified in more than 94% of the intron or/and proximate exons having the aberrant splicing. The dual functions of regulating alternative splicing of MoSrp1 were exemplified in enhancing and suppressing the consensus-mediated efficient splicing of the introns in MoATF1 and MoMTP1, respectively, which both were important for mycelial growth, conidiation, and virulence. Interestingly, MoSrp1 had a conserved sumoylation site that was essential to nuclear localization and enhancing GUAG binding. Further, we showed that MoSrp1 interacted with a splicing factor and two components of the exon-joining complex via its N-terminal RNA recognition domain, which was required to regulate mycelial growth, development and virulence. In contrast, the C-terminus was important only for virulence and stress responses but not for mycelial growth and development. In addition, only orthologues from Pezizomycotina species could completely rescue defects of the deletion mutants. This study reveals that the fungal conserved SR protein Srp1 regulates alternative splicing in a unique manner.

Alternative splicing reprogramming in fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum at different infection stages on Brassica napus

Alternative splicing (AS) is an important post-transcriptional mechanism promoting the diversity of transcripts and proteins to regulate various life processes in eukaryotes. Sclerotinia stem rot is a major disease of Brassica napus caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which causes severe yield loss in B. napus production worldwide. Although many transcriptome studies have been carried out on the growth, development, and infection of S. sclerotiorum, the genome-wide AS events of S. sclerotiorum remain poorly understood, particularly at the infection stage. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was performed to systematically explore the genome-scale AS events of S. sclerotiorum at five important infection stages on a susceptible oilseed rape cultivar. A total of 130 genes were predicted to be involved in AS from the S. sclerotiorum genome, among which 98 genes were differentially expressed and may be responsible for AS reprogramming for its successful infection. In addition, 641 differential alternative splicing genes (DASGs) were identified during S. sclerotiorum infection, accounting for 5.76% of all annotated S. sclerotiorum genes, and 71 DASGs were commonly found at all the five infection stages. The most dominant AS type of S. sclerotiorum was found to be retained introns or alternative 3' splice sites. Furthermore, the resultant AS isoforms of 21 DASGs became pseudogenes, and 60 DASGs encoded different putative proteins with different domains. More importantly, 16 DASGs of S. sclerotiorum were found to have signal peptides and possibly encode putative effectors to facilitate the infection of S. sclerotiorum. Finally, about 69.27% of DASGs were found to be non-differentially expressed genes, indicating that AS serves as another important way to regulate the infection of S. sclerotiorum on plants besides the gene expression level. Taken together, this study provides a genome-wide landscape for the AS of S. sclerotiorum during infection as well as an important resource for further elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of S. sclerotiorum.

Alternative splicing diversifies the transcriptome and proteome of the rice blast fungus during host infection

Alternative splicing (AS) contributes to diversifying and regulating cellular responses to environmental conditions and developmental cues by differentially producing multiple mRNA and protein isoforms from a single gene. Previous studies on AS in pathogenic fungi focused on profiling AS isoforms under a limited number of conditions. We analysed AS profiles in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, a global threat to rice production, using high-quality transcriptome data representing its vegetative growth (mycelia) and multiple host infection stages. We identified 4,270 AS isoforms derived from 2,413 genes, including 499 genes presumably regulated by infection-specific AS. AS appears to increase during infection, with 32.7% of the AS isoforms being produced during infection but absent in mycelia. Analysis of the isoforms observed at each infection stage showed that 636 AS isoforms were more abundant than corresponding annotated mRNAs, especially after initial hyphal penetration into host cell. Many such dominant isoforms were predicted to encode regulatory proteins such as transcription factors and phospho-transferases. We also identified the genes encoding distinct proteins via AS and confirmed the translation of some isoforms via a proteomic analysis, suggesting potential AS-mediated neo-functionalization of some genes during infection. Comprehensive profiling of the pattern of genome-wide AS during multiple stages of rice-M. oryzae interaction established a foundational resource that will help investigate the role and regulation of AS during rice infection.

Quantitative multiplexed proteomics analysis reveals reshaping of the lysine 2-hydroxyisobutyrylome in Fusarium graminearum by tebuconazole

Backgrounds

Lysine 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation (Khib) is a newly discovered posttranslational modification (PTM) and has been identified in several prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Fusarium graminearum, a major pathogen of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereal crops, can cause considerable yield loss and produce various mycotoxins that threaten human health. The application of chemical fungicides such as tebuconazole (TEC) remains the major method to control this pathogen. However, the distribution of Khib in F. graminearum and whether Khib is remodified in response to fungicide stress remain unknown.

Results

Here, we carried out a proteome-wide analysis of Khib in F. graminearum, identifying the reshaping of the lysine 2-hydroxyisobutyrylome by tebuconazole, using the most recently developed high-resolution LC–MS/MS technique in combination with high-specific affinity enrichment. Specifically, 3501 Khib sites on 1049 proteins were identified, and 1083 Khib sites on 556 modified proteins normalized to the total protein content were changed significantly after TEC treatment. Bioinformatics analysis showed that Khib proteins are involved in a wide range of biological processes and may be involved in virulence and deoxynivalenol (DON) production, as well as sterol biosynthesis, in F. graminearum.

Conclusions

Here, we provided a wealth of resources for further study of the roles of Khib in the fungicide resistance of F. graminearum. The results enhanced our understanding of this PTM in filamentous ascomycete fungi and provided insight into the remodification of Khib sites during azole fungicide challenge in F. graminearum.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08372-4.

Prp19-associated splicing factor Cwf15 regulates fungal virulence and development in the rice blast fungus

The splicing factor Cwf15 is an essential component of the Prp19-associated component of the spliceosome and regulates intron splicing in several model species, including yeasts and human cells. However, the roles of Cwf15 remain unexplored in plant pathogenic fungi. Here, we report that MoCWF15 in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is non-essential to viability and important to fungal virulence, growth and conidiation. MoCwf15 contains a putative nuclear localization signal (NLS) and is localized into the nucleus. The NLS sequence but not the predicted phosphorylation site or two sumoylation sites was essential for the biological functions of MoCwf15. Importantly, MoCwf15 physically interacted with the Prp19-associated splicing factors MoCwf4, MoSsa1 and MoCyp1, and negatively regulated protein accumulations of MoCyp1 and MoCwf4. Furthermore, with the deletion of MoCWF15, aberrant intron splicing occurred in near 400 genes, 20 of which were important to the fungal development and virulence. Taken together, MoCWF15 regulates fungal growth and infection-related development by modulating the intron splicing efficiency of a subset of genes in the rice blast fungus.

The RNA binding protein FgRbp1 regulates specific pre-mRNA splicing via interacting with U2AF23 in Fusarium

Precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing is an essential and tightly regulated process in eukaryotic cells; however, the regulatory mechanisms for the splicing are not well understood. Here, we characterize a RNA binding protein named FgRbp1 in Fusarium graminearum, a fungal pathogen of cereal crops worldwide. Deletion of FgRbp1 leads to reduced splicing efficiency in 47% of the F. graminearum intron-containing gene transcripts that are involved in various cellular processes including vegetative growth, development, and virulence. The human ortholog RBM42 is able to fully rescue the growth defects of ΔFgRbp1. FgRbp1 binds to the motif CAAGR in its target mRNAs, and interacts with the splicing factor FgU2AF23, a highly conserved protein involved in 3' splice site recognition, leading to enhanced recruitment of FgU2AF23 to the target mRNAs. This study demonstrates that FgRbp1 is a splicing regulator and regulates the pre-mRNA splicing in a sequence-dependent manner in F. graminearum.

FoEG1, a secreted glycoside hydrolase family 12 protein from Fusarium oxysporum, triggers cell death and modulates plant immunity

Fusarium oxysporum is an important soilborne fungal pathogen with many different formae speciales that can colonize the plant vascular system and cause serious crop wilt disease worldwide. We found a glycoside hydrolase family 12 protein FoEG1, secreted by F. oxysporum, that acted as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) targeting the apoplast of plants to induce cell death. Purified FoEG1 protein triggered cell death in different plants and induced the plant defence response to enhance the disease resistance of plants. The ability of FoEG1 to induce cell death was mediated by leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptor-like kinases BAK1 and SOBIR1, and this ability was independent of its hydrolase activity. The mutants of cysteine residues did not affect the ability of FoEG1 to induce cell death, and an 86 amino acid fragment from amino acid positions 144 to 229 of FoEG1 was sufficient to induce cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana. In addition, the expression of FoEG1 was strongly induced in the early stage of F. oxysporum infection of host plants, and FoEG1 deletion or loss of enzyme activity reduced the virulence of F. oxysporum. Therefore, our results suggest that FoEG1 can contribute to the virulence of F. oxysporum depending on its enzyme activity and can also act as a PAMP to induce plant defence responses.

FgPal1 regulates morphogenesis and pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum

Ascospores are the primary inoculum in Fusarium graminearum, a causal agent of wheat head blight. In a previous study, FgPAL1 was found to be upregulated in the Fgama1 mutant and important for ascosporogenesis. However, the biological function of this well-conserved gene in filamentous ascomycetes is not clear. In this study, we characterized its functions in growth, differentiation and pathogenesis. The Fgpal1 mutant had severe growth defects and often displayed abnormal hyphal tips. It was defective in infectious growth in rachis tissues and spreading in wheat heads. The Fgpal1 mutant produced conidia with fewer septa and more nuclei per compartment than the wild type. In actively growing hyphal tips, FgPal1-GFP mainly localized to the subapical collar and septa. The FgPal1 and LifeAct partially co-localized at the subapical region in an interdependent manner. The Fgpal1 mutant was normal in meiosis with eight nuclei in developing asci but most asci were aborted. Taken together, our results showed that FgPal1 plays a role in maintaining polarized tip growth and coordination between nuclear division and cytokinesis, and it is also important for infectious growth and developments of ascospores by the free cell formation process.

VdNop12, containing two tandem RNA recognition motif domains, is a crucial factor for pathogenicity and cold adaption in Verticillium dahliae

Previous studies have reported the ability of fungi to overwinter in soil or on crop debris under different environmental conditions, but how fungi adapt to chilling is still largely unknown. In this study, we have identified and characterized the RNA binding protein (RBP) (VdNop12) by screening an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation-mediated insertional mutational library of Verticillium dahliae. We determined that this protein was essential to the pathogen for virulence on cotton plants. VdNop12 contains two tandem RNA recognition motif domains, and its orthologs are widely distributed in filamentous fungi. Mutants produced by disruption of VdNop12 showed defects in vegetative growth, conidiation and cell wall integrity. The mutant also showed an increase in sensitivity to low temperature, as compared to the wildtype and complementation strains. Yeast complementation assay showed that VdNop12 could functionally restore the growth phenotype of ΔScNop12 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 15°C. We demonstrated that the VdNop12 is localized in the nucleus, and its loss resulted in the downregulated expression of several genes related to cAMP-PKA and MAPK pathways in V. dahliae. Our results demonstrated a crucial role of RBPs in the regulation of morphology, cold adaption, and pathogenic development in V. dahliae.

The SR-protein FgSrp2 regulates vegetative growth, sexual reproduction and pre-mRNA processing by interacting with FgSrp1 in Fusarium graminearum

Serine/arginine (SR) proteins play significant roles in pre-mRNA splicing in eukaryotes. To investigate how gene expression influences fungal development and pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum, a causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and barley, our previous study identified a SR protein FgSrp1 in F. graminearum, and showed that it is important for conidiation, plant infection and pre-mRNA processing. In this study, we identified another SR protein FgSrp2 in F. graminearum, which is orthologous to Schizosaccharomyces pombe Srp2. Our data showed that, whereas yeast Srp2 is essential for growth, deletion of FgSRP2 resulted in only slight defects in vegetative growth and perithecia melanization. FgSrp2 localized to the nucleus and both its N- and C-terminal regions were important for the localization to the nucleus. FgSrp2 interacted with FgSrp1 to form a complex in vivo. Double deletion of FgSRP1 and FgSRP2 revealed that they had overlapping functions in vegetative growth and sexual reproduction. RNA-seq analysis revealed that, although deletion of FgSRP2 alone had minimal effects, deletion of both FgSRP1 and FgSRP2 caused significant changes in gene transcription and RNA splicing. Overall, our results indicated that FgSrp2 regulates vegetative growth, sexual reproduction and pre-mRNA processing by interacting with FgSrp1.

Arginine methylation is required for remodelling pre-mRNA splicing and induction of autophagy in rice blast fungus

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) regulate many physiological processes, including autophagy. However, the direct roles of the various PRMTs during autophagosome formation remain unclear. Here, we characterised the function of MoHMT1 in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. Knockout of MoHMT1 results in inhibited growth and a decreased ability to cause disease lesions on rice seedlings. MoHMT1 catalyses the di-methylation of arginine 247, 251, 261 and 271 residues of MoSNP1, a U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) component, likely in a manner dependent on direct interaction. RNA-seq analysis revealed that alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs of 558 genes, including the autophagy-related (ATG) gene MoATG4, was altered in MoHMT1 deletion mutants, compared with wild-type strains under normal growth conditions. During light exposure or nitrogen starvation, MoHMT1 localises to autophagosomes and MoHMT1 mutants display defects in autophagy induction. Under nitrogen starvation, six additional MoATG genes were identified with retained introns in their mRNA transcripts, corresponding with a significant reduction in transcripts of intron-spliced isoforms in the MoHMT1 mutant strain. Our study shows that arginine methylation plays an essential role in accurate pre-mRNA splicing necessary for a range of developmental processes, including autophagosome formation.

Sexual specific functions of Tub1 beta-tubulins require stage-specific RNA processing and expression in Fusarium graminearum

The wheat head blight fungus Fusarium graminearum has two highly similar beta-tubulin genes with overlapping functions during vegetative growth but only TUB1 is important for sexual reproduction. To better understand their functional divergence during ascosporogenesis, in this study we characterized the sequence elements important for stage-specific functions of TUB1. Deletion of TUB1 blocked the late but not initial stages of perithecium formation. Perithecia formed by tub1 mutant had limited ascogenous hyphae and failed to develop asci. Silencing of TUB1 by MSUD also resulted in defects in ascospore formation. Interestingly, the 3'-UTR of TUB1 was dispensable for growth but essential for its function during sexual reproduction. RIP mutations that specifically affected Tub1 functions during sexual reproduction also were identified in two ascospore progeny. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis showed that whereas the non-editable mutations at three A-to-I RNA editing sites had no effects, the N347D (not T362D or I368V) edited mutation affected ascospore development. In addition, the F167Y, but not E198K or F200Y, mutation in TUB1 conferred tolerance to carbendazim and caused a minor defect in sexual reproduction. Taken together, our data indicate TUB1 plays an essential role in ascosporogenesis and sexual-specific functions of TUB1 require stage-specific RNA processing and Tub1 expression.

The tri-snRNP specific protein FgSnu66 is functionally related to FgPrp4 kinase in Fusarium graminearum

Deletion of Prp4, the only kinase among spliceosome components, is not lethal in Fusarium graminearum but Fgprp4 mutants have severe growth defects and produced spontaneous suppressors. To identify novel suppressor mutations of Fgprp4, we sequenced the genome of suppressor S37 that was normal in growth but only partially recovered for intron splicing and identified a tandem duplication of 9-aa in the tri-snRNP component FgSNU66. Among the 19 additional suppressor strains found to have mutations in FgSNU66 (out of 260 screened), five had the same 9-aa duplication event with S37 and another five had the R477H/C mutation. The rest had nonsense or G-to-D mutations in the C-terminal 27-aa (CT27) region of FgSnu66, which is absent in its yeast ortholog. Truncation of this C-terminal region reduced the interaction of FgSnu66 with FgHub1 but increased its interaction with FgPrp8 and FgPrp6. Five phosphorylation sites were identified in FgSnu66 by phosphoproteomic analysis and the T418A-S420A-S422A mutation was shown to reduce virulence. Overall, our results showed that mutations in FgSNU66 can suppress deletion of Fgprp4, which has not been reported in other organisms, and the C-terminal tail of FgSnu66 plays a role in its interaction with key tri-snRNP components during spliceosome activation.