Metabolic Changes of Fusarium graminearum Induced by TPS Gene Deletion

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) mainly resulting from Fusarium graminearum (Fg) Schwabe is a notorious wheat disease causing huge losses in wheat production globally. Fg also produces mycotoxins, which are harmful to human and domestic animals. In our previous study, we obtained two Fg mutants, TPS1 − and TPS2 − , respectively, with a single deletion of trehalose 6-phosphate synthase (TPS1) and trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase (TPS2) compared with the wild type (WT). Both mutants were unable to synthesize trehalose and produced fewer mycotoxins. To understand the other biochemical changes induced by TPS gene deletion in Fg, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolomic differences between TPS − mutants and the WT using NMR together with gas chromatography−flame ionization detection/mass spectrometry. The expression of some relevant genes was also quantified. The results showed that TPS1 − and TPS2 − mutants shared some common metabolic feature such as decreased levels for trehalose, Val, Thr, Lys, Asp, His, Trp, malonate, citrate, uridine, guanosine, inosine, AMP, C10:0, and C16:1 compared with the WT. Both mutants also shared some common expressional patterns for most of the relevant genes. This suggests that apart from the reduced trehalose biosynthesis, both TPS1 and TPS2 have roles in inhibiting glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle but promoting the phosphopentose pathway and nucleotide synthesis; the depletion of either TPS gene reduces the acetyl-CoAmediated mycotoxin biosynthesis. TPS2 − mutants produced more fatty acids than TPS1 − mutants, suggesting different roles for TPS1 and TPS2, with TPS2 − mutants having impaired trehalose biosynthesis and trehalose 6-phosphate accumulation. This may offer opportunities for developing new fungicides targeting trehalose biosynthesis in Fg for FHB control and mycotoxin reduction in the FHB-affected cereals.

Regulation of Carbohydrate Metabolism by Trehalose-6-Phosphate Synthase 3 in the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

“…This result may indicate that the physiological roles of the three TPS genes in brown planthopper are different. In microorganisms, TPS and TPP are required for trehalose biosynthesis in yeast and filamentous fungi, including Fusarium graminearum (Song et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2019). Three mutants were obtained, a TPS mutant, a TPP mutant, and a double deletion of TPS and TPP (TPS-TPP mutant).…”

The use of RNA-based treatments in the field of cancer immunotherapy

“…Optimization of G and cytosine (C) content in the ORF can be applied to regulate the translation elongation rate [377]. Uridine depletion is another codon optimization strategy that can directly be linked to an increased GC content [378]. Uridine-rich regions can be recognized by RIG-I, and its activation may lead to abolishing of protein expression [379].…”

Application of Metabolomics in Fungal Research

“…GC–EI-MS-based metabolomics has proven to be effective in unraveling the effects of genetic engineering and fungicide toxicity on fungal metabolism. Liu et al studied the metabolism of Fusarium graminearum strains producing low toxins using a metabolome approach based on NMR and GC–MS and found new possible bactericidal targets [ 52 ]. The phenotypic observation and significance of nucleobase transporters in Aspergillus nidulans tolerance to Boscalid were validated by kalampokis et al through metabolomic analysis of various biosynthetic pathways and metabolites [ 53 ].…”