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Sun W, Zhao L, Zhou J, Feng H, Zhang Y, Feng Z, Zhu H, Wei F. VdP5CDH is involved in melanin formation, stress resistance and play a regulatory role in virulence of Verticillium dahliae. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1429755. [PMID: 39113834 PMCID: PMC11303183 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1429755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Verticillium dahliae, a soil-borne fungal pathogen, can cause cotton Verticillium wilt. In this study, VdP5CDH, the member of the ALDH_F4-17 family of carboxylate dehydrogenases, was identified in the genome of V. dahliae and investigated function in regulating virulence by generating gene deletion mutants and complementary mutants. Methods Homologous recombination method was used to construct mutants, transcriptome sequencing revealed gene-related metabolic pathways, and disease degree of cotton was observed through pathogen infection experiments. Results The conidial surface of VdP5CDH deletion strains was dented and shriveled, and the number of conidial spores increased. Compared with the wild-type (WT), the mycelial diameter of deletion mutants increased by 10.59%-11.16%, the mycelial growth showed irregular branching patterns, and misaligned arrangement. Although capable of penetrating cellophane, deletion mutants were unable to produce melanin. VdP5CDH was mainly associated with glucose metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, ABC transporter activity as well as various amino acid metabolic processes. After gene knockout, raffinose and pectin were used as the main carbon sources to promote the growth of strains and the growth rate of deletion strains in the medium containing raffinose was higher than that of WT. Consequently, the deletion mutant strains decreased utilization efficiency with which they utilized various nitrogen sources. The deletion mutants maintain responsiveness to osmotic stress and oxidative stress stimuli. Additionally, compared to WT strains, the deletion mutant strains exhibited differences in culture temperature tolerance, UV exposure response, and fungicide sensitivity. After cotton was infected with deletion strains conidial suspension, its disease index increased dramatically, while it gradually decreased after spraying with 2 mM glutamate in batches. With the increase of spraying times, the effect was more significant, and the disease index decreased by 18.95%-19.66% at 26 dpi. Discussion These results indicated that VdP5CDH regulates the pathogenicity of fungi and controls mycelia growth, melanin formation, conidia morphology, abiotic stress resistance, and the expression of infecting structure-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanqing Sun
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Lihong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Jinglong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Hongjie Feng
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Yalin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Zili Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Heqin Zhu
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Feng Wei
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
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Wu Y, Zhou J, Wei F, Zhang Y, Zhao L, Feng Z, Feng H. The role of VdSti1 in Verticillium dahliae: insights into pathogenicity and stress responses. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1377713. [PMID: 38638896 PMCID: PMC11024458 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1377713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Sti1/Hop, a stress-induced co-chaperone protein, serves as a crucial link between Hsp70 and Hsp90 during cellular stress responses. Despite its importance in stress defense mechanisms, the biological role of Sti1 in Verticillium dahliae, a destructive fungal pathogen, remains largely unexplored. This study focused on identifying and characterizing Sti1 homologues in V. dahliae by comparing them to those found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results indicated that the VdSti1-deficient mutant displayed increased sensitivity to drugs targeting the ergosterol synthesis pathway, leading to a notable inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis. Moreover, the mutant exhibited reduced production of microsclerotia and melanin, accompanied by decreased expression of microsclerotia and melanin-related genes VDH1, Vayg1, and VaflM. Additionally, the mutant's conidia showed more severe damage under heat shock conditions and displayed growth defects under various stressors such as temperature, SDS, and CR stress, as well as increased sensitivity to H2O2, while osmotic stress did not impact its growth. Importantly, the VdSti1-deficient mutant demonstrated significantly diminished pathogenicity compared to the wild-type strain. This study sheds light on the functional conservation and divergence of Sti1 homologues in fungal biology and underscores the critical role of VdSti1 in microsclerotia development, stress response, and pathogenicity of V. dahliae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutao Wu
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China
| | - Jinglong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Feng Wei
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Yalin Zhang
- National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Lihong Zhao
- National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Zili Feng
- National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Hongjie Feng
- National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China
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Liu S, Liu R, Chu B, Li Z, Meng Q, Gou Y, Xue C, Tian T, Chen P, Wei F, Wen S, Liu Y, Sun S, Gao S. Identification and screening of fungicides against Piper nigrum basal Fusarium wilt disease in Hainan, China. J Basic Microbiol 2023; 63:1254-1264. [PMID: 37267939 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.202300183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Fusarium wilt has occurred in the main Piper nigrum cultivation regions, which seriously affects the yield and quality of P. nigrum. To identify the pathogen of this disease, the diseased roots were collected from a demonstration base in Hainan Province. The pathogen was obtained by tissue isolation method and confirmed by pathogenicity test. Based on the morphological observation, sequence analyses of TEF1-α nuclear gene, Fusarium solani was identified as the pathogen causing P. nigrum Fusarium wilt and induced symptoms on inoculated plants, including chlorosis, necrotic spots, wilt, drying, and root rot. The experiments for the antifungal activity showed that all the 11 fungicides selected in this study showed certain inhibitory effects on the colony growth of F. solani, where 2% kasugamycin AS, 45% prochloraz EW, 25 g·L-1 fludioxonil SC and 430 g·L-1 tebuconazole SC exhibited relative higher inhibitory effects with EC50 as 0.065, 0.205, 0.395, and 0.483 mg·L-1 , respectively, and were selected to perform SEM analysis and test in seeds in vitro. The SEM analysis showed that kasugamycin, prochloraz, fludioxonil, and tebuconazole might have exerted their antifungal effect by damaging F. solani mycelia or microconidia. These preparations were applied as a seed coating of P. nigrum Reyin-1. The kasugamycin treatment was most effective in reducing the harmful impact of F. solani on the seed germination. These results presented herein provide useful guidance for the effective control of P. nigrum Fusarium wilt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shichao Liu
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Ruibing Liu
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Bo Chu
- College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Zhuang Li
- College of Mathematics and Physics, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Qianqian Meng
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Yafeng Gou
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Chao Xue
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Tian Tian
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Pengyun Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Fei Wei
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Siwei Wen
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Yanan Liu
- College of Tropical Crop Science, Yunnan Agricultural University, Puer, China
| | - Shiwei Sun
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
| | - Shengfeng Gao
- Spice and Beverage Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning, China
- National Center of Important Tropical Crops Engineering and Technology Research, Wanning, China
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Liu S, Liu R, Lv J, Feng Z, Wei F, Zhao L, Zhang Y, Zhu H, Feng H. The glycoside hydrolase 28 member VdEPG1 is a virulence factor of Verticillium dahliae and interacts with the jasmonic acid pathway-related gene GhOPR9. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2023; 24:1238-1255. [PMID: 37401912 PMCID: PMC10502839 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family members act as virulence factors and regulate plant immune responses during pathogen infection. Here, we characterized the GH28 family member endopolygalacturonase VdEPG1 in Verticillium dahliae. VdEPG1 acts as a virulence factor during V. dahliae infection. The expression level of VdEPG1 was greatly increased in V. dahliae inoculated on cotton roots. VdEPG1 suppressed VdNLP1-mediated cell death by modulating pathogenesis-related genes in Nicotiana benthamiana. Knocking out VdEPG1 led to a significant decrease in the pathogenicity of V. dahliae in cotton. The deletion strains were more susceptible to osmotic stress and the ability of V. dahliae to utilize carbon sources was deficient. In addition, the deletion strains lost the ability to penetrate cellophane membrane, with mycelia showing a disordered arrangement on the membrane, and spore development was affected. A jasmonic acid (JA) pathway-related gene, GhOPR9, was identified as interacting with VdEPG1 in the yeast two-hybrid system. The interaction was further confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and luciferase complementation imaging assays in N. benthamiana leaves. GhOPR9 plays a positive role in the resistance of cotton to V. dahliae by regulating JA biosynthesis. These results indicate that VdEPG1 may be able to regulate host immune responses as a virulence factor through modulating the GhOPR9-mediated JA biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shichao Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
- Spice and Beverage Research InstituteChinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural SciencesWanningHainanChina
| | - Ruibing Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
- Spice and Beverage Research InstituteChinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural SciencesWanningHainanChina
| | - Junyuan Lv
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
| | - Zili Feng
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
| | - Feng Wei
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChangjiXinjiangChina
| | - Lihong Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
| | - Yalin Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
| | - Heqin Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChangjiXinjiangChina
| | - Hongjie Feng
- National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio‐breeding and Integrated UtilizationInstitute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyangHenanChina
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesChangjiXinjiangChina
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VdGAL4 Modulates Microsclerotium Formation, Conidial Morphology, and Germination To Promote Virulence in Verticillium dahliae. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0351522. [PMID: 36475739 PMCID: PMC9927093 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03515-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Verticillium dahliae Kleb is a typical soilborne pathogen that can cause vascular wilt disease on more than 400 plants. Functional analysis of genes related to the growth and virulence is crucial to revealing the molecular mechanism of the pathogenicity of V. dahliae. Glycosidase hydrolases can hydrolyze the glycosidic bond, and some can cause host plant immune response to V. dahliae. Here, we reported a functional validation of VdGAL4 as an α-galactosidase that belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 27. VdGAL4 could cause plant cell death, and its signal peptide plays an important role in cellular immune response. VdGAL4-triggered cell death depends on BAK1 and SOBIR1 in Nicotiana benthamiana. In V. dahliae, the function of VdGAL4 in mycelial growth, conidia, microsclerotium, and pathogenicity was studied by constructing VdGAL4 deletion and complementation mutants. Results showed that the deletion of VdGAL4 reduced the conidial yield and conidial germination rate of V. dahliae and changed the microscopic morphology of conidia; the mycelia were arranged more disorderly and were unable to produce microsclerotium. The VdGAL4 deletion mutants exhibited reduced utilization of different carbon sources, such as raffinose and sucrose. The VdGAL4 deletion mutants were also more sensitive to abiotic stress agents of SDS, sorbitol, low-temperature stress of 16°C, and high-temperature stress of 45°C. In addition, the VdGAL4 deletion mutants lost the ability to penetrate cellophane and its mycelium were disorderly arranged. Remarkably, VdGAL4 deletion mutants exhibited reduced pathogenicity of V. dahliae. These results showed that VdGAL4 played a critical role in the pathogenicity of V. dahliae by regulating mycelial growth, conidial morphology, and the formation of microsclerotium. IMPORTANCE This study showed that α-galactosidase VdGAL4 of V. dahliae could activate plant immune response and plays an important role in conidial morphology and yield, formation of microsclerotia, and mycelial penetration. VdGAL4 deletion mutants significantly reduced the pathogenicity of V. dahliae. These findings deepened the understanding of pathogenic virulence factors and how the mechanism of pathogenic fungi infected the host, which may help to seek new strategies for effective control of plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi.
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Lv J, Zhou J, Chang B, Zhang Y, Feng Z, Wei F, Zhao L, Zhang Y, Feng H. Two Metalloproteases VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 from Verticillium dahliae Are Required for Fungal Pathogenicity, Stress Adaptation, and Activating Immune Response of Host. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0247722. [PMID: 36222688 PMCID: PMC9769895 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02477-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne fungus that causes destructive vascular wilt diseases in a wide range of plant hosts. In this study, we identified two M35 family metalloproteinases: VdM35-1 and VdASPF2, and investigated their function in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 were located in the cell membrane, as secreted proteins depended on signal peptide, and two histidine residues (H) induced cell death and activated plant immune response. VdM35-1 depended on membrane receptor proteins NbBAK1 and NbSOBIR1 in the process of inducing cell death, while VdASPF2 did not depend on them. The deletion of VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 led to the decrease of sporulation and the slow shortening of mycelial branch growth, and the spore morphology of VdM35-1-deficient strain became malformed. In addition, ΔVdM35-1 and ΔVdASPF2 showed more sensitive to osmotic stress, SDS, Congo red (CR), and high temperature. In terms of the utilization of carbon sources, the knockout mutants exhibited decreased utilization of carbon sources, and the growth rates on the medium containing sucrose, starch, and pectin were lower than the wild type strain, with significantly limited growth, especially on galactose-containing medium. Furthermore, ΔVdM35-1 and ΔVdASPF2 showed a significant reduction in pathogenicity. Collectively, these results suggested that VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 were important multifunction factors in the pathogenicity of V. dahliae and relative to stress adaptation and activated plant immune response. IMPORTANCE Verticillium wilt, caused by the notorious fungal pathogen V. dahliae, is one of the main limiting factors for agricultural production. Metalloproteases played an important role in the pathogenic mechanism of pathogens. Our research found that M35 family metalloproteases VdM35-1 and VdASPF2 played an important role in the development, adaptability, and pathogenicity of V. dahliae, providing a new perspective for further understanding the molecular mechanism of virulence of fungal pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyuan Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Jinglong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - BaiYang Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Yihao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Zili Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Feng Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Lihong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Yalin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
| | - Hongjie Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, Henan, China
- Western Agricultural Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
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The Hydrophobin Gene Family Confers a Fitness Trade-off between Spore Dispersal and Host Colonization in Penicillium expansum. mBio 2022; 13:e0275422. [PMID: 36374077 PMCID: PMC9765440 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02754-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrophobins are small amphipathic surface proteins found exclusively in fungi. In filamentous ascomycetes, one conserved role of a subset of hydrophobins is their requirement for spore dispersal. Other contributions of these proteins to fungal biology are less clear and vary across genera. To determine the functions of hydrophobins in the biology and virulence of this fungus, we created seven single mutants and a septuple-deletion mutant (Δsep) of the entire putative P. expansum hydrophobin gene family. One spore hydrophobin, HfbA, shared 72.56% sequence identity to the Aspergillus fumigatus spore hydrophobin RodA and was required for efficient spore dispersion in P. expansum. The Δsep mutant was likewise reduced in spore dispersal, hypothesized to be due to the aberrant shape and clumping of the Δsep conidia and conidiophores. Additionally, the Δsep mutant presented several differences in physiological traits, including decreased survival in extreme cold temperatures and increased production of several toxic secondary metabolites. Most striking was the unexpected fitness advantage that the Δsep strain displayed in competitive passaging with the wild-type strain on host apple where the mutant significantly increased in percentage of the colonizing population. This work uncovers potential ecological trade-offs of hydrophobin presence in filamentous fungi. IMPORTANCE Hydrophobins are amphipathic secreted proteins uniquely found in filamentous fungi. These proteins self-assemble and constitute the outer most layer of fungal surfaces thus mediating multiple aspects of fungal interactions with their environments. Hydrophobins facilitate spore dispersal, yet a full understanding of the function and need for multiple hydrophobins in fungal species remains elusive. To address the role of this protein family in Penicillium expansum, the causative agent of blue mold disease in pome fruit, all seven putative hydrophobin genes were deleted and the mutant assessed for numerous physiological traits and virulence on fruit. Despite showing a decrease in spore dispersal, the septuple-deletion mutant was more fit than the wild type in competitive pathogenicity tests on apple. Our findings suggest this gene family illustrates a functional trade-off between dispersal and host colonization in P. expansum.
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Tomato Xylem Sap Hydrophobins Vdh4 and Vdh5 Are Important for Late Stages of Verticillium dahliae Plant Infection. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8121252. [PMID: 36547586 PMCID: PMC9783231 DOI: 10.3390/jof8121252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Verticillium dahliae causes economic losses to a wide range of crops as a vascular fungal pathogen. This filamentous ascomycete spends long periods of its life cycle in the plant xylem, a unique environment that requires adaptive processes. Specifically, fungal proteins produced in the xylem sap of the plant host may play important roles in colonizing the plant vasculature and in inducing disease symptoms. RNA sequencing revealed over 1500 fungal transcripts that are significantly more abundant in cells grown in tomato xylem sap compared with pectin-rich medium. Of the 85 genes that are strongly induced in the xylem sap, four genes encode the hydrophobins Vdh1, Vdh2, Vdh4 and Vdh5. Vdh4 and Vhd5 are structurally distinct from each other and from the three other hydrophobins (Vdh1-3) annotated in V. dahliae JR2. Their functions in the life cycle and virulence of V. dahliae were explored using genetics, cell biology and plant infection experiments. Our data revealed that Vdh4 and Vdh5 are dispensable for V. dahliae development and stress response, while both contribute to full disease development in tomato plants by acting at later colonization stages. We conclude that Vdh4 and Vdh5 are functionally specialized fungal hydrophobins that support pathogenicity against plants.
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