The transcription factor Zt107320 affects the dimorphic switch, growth and virulence of the fungal wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici.
Michael HabigSharon Marie Bahena-GarridoFriederike BarkmannJanine HaueisenEva Holtgrewe StukenbrockPublished in: Molecular plant pathology (2019)
Zymoseptoria tritici is a filamentous fungus causing Septoria tritici blotch in wheat. The pathogen has a narrow host range and infections of grasses other than susceptible wheat are blocked early after stomatal penetration. During these abortive infections, the fungus shows a markedly different gene expression pattern. However, the underlying mechanisms causing differential gene expression during host and non-host interactions are largely unknown, but likely include transcriptional regulators responsible for the onset of an infection programme in compatible hosts. MoCOD1, a member of the fungal Zn(II)2 Cys6 transcription factor family, has been shown to directly affect pathogenicity in the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Here, we analyse the role of the putative transcription factor Zt107320, a homologue of MoCOD1, during infection of compatible and incompatible hosts by Z. tritici. We show for the first time that Zt107320 is differentially expressed in host versus non-host infections and that lower expression corresponds to an incompatible infection of non-hosts. Applying reverse genetics approaches, we further show that Zt107320 regulates the dimorphic switch as well as the growth rate of Z. tritici and affects fungal cell wall composition in vitro. Moreover, ∆Zt107320 mutants showed reduced virulence during compatible infections of wheat. We conclude that Zt107320 directly influences pathogen fitness and propose that Zt107320 is involved in the regulation of growth processes and pathogenicity during infection.
Keyphrases
- transcription factor
- gene expression
- cell wall
- biofilm formation
- candida albicans
- escherichia coli
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- dna methylation
- staphylococcus aureus
- dna binding
- poor prognosis
- antimicrobial resistance
- physical activity
- randomized controlled trial
- clinical trial
- risk assessment
- long non coding rna
- binding protein