Analysis of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway cloning, molecular characterization and phylogeny of lanosterol 14α-demethylase (ERG11) gene of Moniliophthora perniciosa

Abstract

The phytopathogenic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime & Philips-Mora, causal agent of witches’ broom disease of cocoa, causes countless damage to cocoa production in Brazil. Molecular studies have attempted to identify genes that play important roles in fungal survival and virulence. In this study, sequences deposited in the M. perniciosa Genome Sequencing Project database were analyzed to identify potential biological targets. For the first time, the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in M. perniciosa was studied and the lanosterol 14α-demethylase gene (ERG11) that encodes the main enzyme of this pathway and is a target for fungicides was cloned, characterized molecularly and its phylogeny analyzed. ERG11 genomic DNA and cDNA were characterized and sequence analysis of the ERG11 protein identified highly conserved domains typical of this enzyme, such as SRS1, SRS4, EXXR and the heme-binding region (HBR). Comparison of the protein sequences and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the M. perniciosa enzyme was most closely related to that of Coprinopsis cinerea.

Synergistic Interactions of Eugenol-tosylate and Its Congeners with Fluconazole against Candida albicans

“…Since all the tested semi-synthetic derivatives E1-E6, inhibited ergosterol biosynthesis in different Candida isolates, we hypothesized changes in the corresponding gene expression levels in cells treated with E1-E6 or FLC. Studies have already reported the role of protein product, lanosterol 14α-demethylase, of ERG 11 gene in ergosterol biosynthesis pathway [ 30 , 31 ] and the up regulation of this gene in azole resistance [ 31 ]. In view of this, one FLC- susceptible C .…”

Lack of Association between Fluconazole Susceptibility and ERG11 Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Cryptococcus neoformans Clinical Isolates from Uganda

“…These differences in sequence could be due to natural variations in the ERG11 genetic code. However, sequence analysis of the Ergl1p protein across different fungi has previously shown that the enzyme ligand-binding pocket site amino acid domains are highly conserved ( Figure 2 ) [ 40 ]. This conservation is most likely required for the integrity and protein function of the 14α-demethylase activity of the protein.…”

Transcriptome dynamics and metabolite analysis revealed the candidate genes and regulatory mechanism of ganoderic acid biosynthesis during liquid superficial‐static culture of Ganoderma lucidum

“…Lanosterol 14‐demethylase is the first enzyme encoded by two ERG11 genes that catalysed the lanosterol to form ergosterol. The encoded protein is a cytochrome P450, which is also known as CYP51F1 (Ceita et al ., 2014). In some pathogenic fungi, lanosterol 14‐demethylase, as a key enzyme in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in fungi, was used as a target for antifungals (Alcazar‐Fuoli and Mellado, 2013).…”