Mutation of the Slt2 ortholog from Cryphonectria parasitica results in abnormal cell wall integrity and sectorization with impaired pathogenicity

So, Kum-Kang; Ko, Yo-Han; Chun, Jeesun; Kim, Jung-Mi; Kim, Dae-Hyuk

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-09383-y

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the plant pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus , deletion of mps1 , a mpk1 orthologue, strongly inhibited pigmentation by reducing the expression of DHN-melanin-biosynthetic genes [ 28 ]. Similar results were also observed in other plant-pathogenic fungi such as Botrytis cinerea , Alternaria alternata , Cryphonectria parasitica , and even in the mutualistic endophyte Trichoderma virens [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: The Cell Wall Integrity Pathway Affects the Production Ofsupporting

confidence: 80%

The Cell Wall Integrity Signaling Pathway and Its Involvement in Secondary Metabolite Production

Valiante

2017

JoF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fungal cell wall is the external and first layer that fungi use to interact with the environment. Every stress signal, before being translated into an appropriate stress response, needs to overtake this layer. Many signaling pathways are involved in translating stress signals, but the cell wall integrity (CWI) signaling pathway is the one responsible for the maintenance and biosynthesis of the fungal cell wall. In fungi, the CWI signal is composed of a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) module. After the start of the phosphorylation cascade, the CWI signal induces the expression of cell-wall-related genes. However, the function of the CWI signal is not merely the activation of cell wall biosynthesis, but also the regulation of expression and production of specific molecules that are used by fungi to better compete in the environment. These molecules are normally defined as secondary metabolites or natural products. This review is focused on secondary metabolites affected by the CWI signal pathway with a special focus on relevant natural products such as melanins, mycotoxins, and antibacterial compounds.

show abstract

Section: The Cell Wall Integrity Pathway Affects the Production Ofsupporting

confidence: 80%

The Cell Wall Integrity Signaling Pathway and Its Involvement in Secondary Metabolite Production

Valiante

2017

JoF

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…PRJNA657707). As with other sectored progenies of mutants in the cell wall integrity signal transduction pathway (11,13), TdDMT1-S was therefore not due to a simple second mutation but rather to epigenetic changes, as previously discussed (11,13,15). Two double-knockout mutants (TdDMT1/2-1 and -2) from a single-knockout parent (TdDMT1) showed vigorous mycelial growth compared to that of the parental strain, TdDMT1; however, their pigmentation was more restricted and less extensive than in the parental TdDMT1, which was similar to the wild type ( Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Distinct Roles of Two DNA Methyltransferases from Cryphonectria parasitica in Fungal Virulence, Responses to Hypovirus Infection, and Viral Clearance

Chun

et al. 2021

mBio

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Two DNA methyltransferase (DNMTase) genes from Cryphonectria parasitica have been previously identified as CpDmt1 and CpDmt2, which are orthologous to rid and dim-2 of Neurospora crassa, respectively. While global changes in DNA methylation have been associated with fungal sectorization and CpDmt1 but not CpDmt2 has been implicated in the sporadic sectorization, the present study continues to investigate the biological functions of both DNMTase genes. Transcription of both DNMTases is regulated in response to infection with the Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV1-EP713). CpDmt1 is upregulated and CpDmt2 is downregulated by CHV1 infection. Conidium production and response to heat stress are affected only by mutation of CpDmt1, not by CpDmt2 mutation. Significant changes in virulence are observed in opposite directions; i.e., the CpDmt1-null mutant is hypervirulent, while the CpDmt2-null mutant is hypovirulent. Compared to the CHV1-infected wild type, CHV1-transferred single and double mutants show severe growth retardation: the colony size is less than 10% that of the parental virus-free null mutants, and their titers of transferred CHV1 are higher than that of the wild type, implying that no defect in viral replication occurs. However, as cultivation proceeds, spontaneous viral clearance is observed in hypovirus-infected colonies of the null mutants, which has never been reported in this fungus-virus interaction. This study demonstrates that both DNMTases are significant factors in fungal development and virulence. Each fungal DNMTase affects fungal biology in both common and separate ways. In addition, both genes are essential to the antiviral responses, including viral clearance which depends on their mutations. IMPORTANCE Although relatively few in number, studies of DNA methylation have shown that fungal DNA methylation is implicated in development, genome integrity, and genome defense. While fungal DNMTase has been suggested as playing a role in genome defense, studies of the biological function of fungal DNMTase have been very limited. In this study, we have shown distinct biological functions of two DNA methyltransferases from the chestnut blight fungus C. parasitica. We have demonstrated that DNMTases are important to fungal development and virulence. In addition, these genes are shown to play an important role in the fungal response to hypoviral CHV1 infection, including severely retarded colonial growth, and in viral clearance, which has never been previously observed in mycovirus infection. These findings provide a better understanding of the biological functions of fungal DNA methyltransferase and a basis for clarifying the epigenetic regulation of fungal virulence, responses to hypovirus infection, and viral clearance.

show abstract

“…Among these, studies on CpBck1 , an ortholog of yeast Bck1 [a cell wall integrity (CWI) MAPKKK], have been conducted because a CpBck1 -null mutant showed an unexpected phenotypic change involving sporadic sectorization ( Lee and Levin, 1992 ; Kim et al, 2016 ). In addition, recent studies on CpSlt2 , an ortholog of yeast Slt2 (a CWI MAPK), demonstrated that mutation in the CpSlt2 gene resulted in the sectorization phenotype although the phenotype was not as severe as that of the CpBck1 mutant ( So et al, 2017 ). These results suggest that sectorization is the result of genetic changes in the CWI MAPK signaling pathway.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global DNA Methylation in the Chestnut Blight Fungus Cryphonectria parasitica and Genome-Wide Changes in DNA Methylation Accompanied with Sectorization

Chun

et al. 2018

Front. Plant Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mutation in CpBck1, an ortholog of the cell wall integrity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica resulted in a sporadic sectorization as culture proceeded. The progeny from the sectored area maintained the characteristics of the sector, showing a massive morphogenetic change, including robust mycelial growth without differentiation. Epigenetic changes were investigated as the genetic mechanism underlying this sectorization. Quantification of DNA methylation and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing revealed genome-wide DNA methylation of the wild-type at each nucleotide level and changes in DNA methylation of the sectored progeny. Compared to the wild-type, the sectored progeny exhibited marked genome-wide DNA hypomethylation but increased methylation sites. Expression analysis of two DNA methyltransferases, including two representative types of DNA methyltransferase (DNMTase), demonstrated that both were significantly down-regulated in the sectored progeny. However, functional analysis using mutant phenotypes of corresponding DNMTases demonstrated that a mutant of CpDmt1, an ortholog of RID of Neurospora crassa, resulted in the sectored phenotype but the CpDmt2 mutant did not, suggesting that the genetic basis of fungal sectorization is more complex. The present study revealed that a mutation in a signaling pathway component resulted in sectorization accompanied with changes in genome-wide DNA methylation, which suggests that this signal transduction pathway is important for epigenetic control of sectorization via regulation of genes involved in DNA methylation.

show abstract

Mutation of the Slt2 ortholog from Cryphonectria parasitica results in abnormal cell wall integrity and sectorization with impaired pathogenicity

Cited by 13 publications

References 57 publications

The Cell Wall Integrity Signaling Pathway and Its Involvement in Secondary Metabolite Production

The Cell Wall Integrity Signaling Pathway and Its Involvement in Secondary Metabolite Production

Distinct Roles of Two DNA Methyltransferases from Cryphonectria parasitica in Fungal Virulence, Responses to Hypovirus Infection, and Viral Clearance

Global DNA Methylation in the Chestnut Blight Fungus Cryphonectria parasitica and Genome-Wide Changes in DNA Methylation Accompanied with Sectorization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About