The 14-3-3 Protein Homolog ArtA Regulates Development and Secondary Metabolism in the Opportunistic Plant Pathogen Aspergillus flavus

Abstract

The opportunistic plant-pathogenic fungus produces carcinogenic mycotoxins termed aflatoxins (AF). Aflatoxin contamination of agriculturally important crops, such as maize, peanut, sorghum, and tree nuts, is responsible for serious adverse health and economic impacts worldwide. In order to identify possible genetic targets to reduce AF contamination, we have characterized the gene, encoding a putative 14-3-3 homolog in The deletion mutant presents a slight decrease in vegetative growth and alterations in morphological development and secondary metabolism. Specifically, affects conidiation, and this effect is influenced by the type of substrate and culture condition. In addition, normal levels of are required for sclerotial development. Importantly, negatively regulates AF production as well as the concomitant expression of genes in the AF gene cluster. An increase in AF is also observed in seeds infected with the strain lacking Furthermore, the expression of other secondary metabolite genes is also dependent, including genes in the cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and ustiloxin gene clusters, in this agriculturally important fungus. In the current study, , which encodes a 14-3-3 homolog, was characterized in the agriculturally and medically important fungus, specifically, its possible role governing sporulation, formation of resistant structures, and secondary metabolism. The highly conserved is necessary for normal fungal morphogenesis in an environment-dependent manner, affecting the balance between production of conidiophores and the formation of resistant structures that are necessary for the dissemination and survival of this opportunistic pathogen. This study reports a 14-3-3 protein affecting secondary metabolism in filamentous fungi. Importantly, regulates the biosynthesis of the potent carcinogenic compound aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) as well as the production of other secondary metabolites.

Ste2 receptor-mediated chemotropism of Fusarium graminearum contributes to its pathogenicity against wheat

“…Bmh1 and Bmh2 are 14-3-3 adaptor proteins known to associate with the CWI MAPK signaling pathways in S. cerevisiae 40 . Orthologues of these proteins in filamentous fungi have been implicated in a variety of processes, including cell cycle progression and cell growth 41,42 , germ tube development and growth 43 , and even repression of secondary metabolite production 44,45 . Single deletion mutants of these orthologous F. graminearum 46 proteins, Fgbmh1Δ and Fgbmh2Δ, were tested in the chemotropism plate assay (Fig.…”

Taxonomy ofAspergillussectionFlaviand their production of aflatoxins, ochratoxins and other mycotoxins

“…2018 ) have been published. Gene clusters for several secondary metabolites, and the regulation of these gene clusters in A. flavus are known, including those for aflatoxins, aflatrem, aflavarins, aflavinines, asparasones, cyclopiazonic acid, kojic acid, leporins and penicillin ( Chang et al., 2009 , Geogianna et al., 2010 , Marui et al., 2010 , Terebayashi et al., 2010 , Chang and Ehrlich, 2011 , Marui et al., 2011 , Amare and Keller, 2014 , Ehrlich and Mack, 2014 , Tang et al., 2015 , Cary et al., 2015a , Cary et al., 2015b , Cary et al., 2017 , Gilbert et al., 2016 , Ammar et al., 2017 , Chang et al., 2017 , Ibarra et al., 2018 ). Genome sequencing of more strains in section Flavi will help elucidating how the gene clusters for aflatoxins and ochratoxins evolved.…”

Biotinylated Surfome Profiling Identifies Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Therapy of Aspergillus fumigatus Infection

“…In this study, Tef1 was detected with biotinylation at the C-terminal K472-to-K486 region throughout germination ( Table 1 ), indicating that Tef1 in A. fumigatus might have a similar function. The 14-3-3 proteins, such as ArtA, also have the ability to bind a multitude of proteins and to play an important role in morphogenesis and sensing of environmental cues in fungi ( 46 – 48 ). The presence of HSPs on the surface of mammalian cells and microorganisms has been well documented ( 39 , 49 – 53 ) and was also confirmed in this study ( Fig.…”