scholarly journals Transcription factor SsFoxE3 activating SsAtg8 is critical for sclerotinia, compound appressoria formation, and pathogenicity in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenli Jiao ◽  
Huilin Yu ◽  
Jie Cong ◽  
Kunqin Xiao ◽  
Xianghui Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Appressoria Formation

scholarly journals The Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase SsFdh1 Is Regulated by and Functionally Cooperates with the GATA Transcription Factor SsNsd1 in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

mSystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Genglin Zhu ◽  
Gang Yu ◽  
Xianghui Zhang ◽  
Jinliang Liu ◽  
Yanhua Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Nuclear Translocation ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gata Transcription Factor ◽  
Gata Box

ABSTRACT GATA transcription factors (TFs) are common eukaryotic regulators, and glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenases (GD-FDH) are ubiquitous enzymes with formaldehyde detoxification activity. In this study, the formaldehyde dehydrogenase Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Fdh1 (SsFdh1) was first characterized as an interacting partner of a GATA TF, SsNsd1, in S. sclerotiorum. Genetic analysis reveals that SsFdh1 functions in formaldehyde detoxification, nitrogen metabolism, sclerotium development, and pathogenicity. Both SsNsd1 and SsFdh1 harbor typical zinc finger motifs with conserved cysteine residues. SsNsd1 regulates SsFdh1 in two distinct manners. SsNsd1 directly binds to GATA-box DNA in the promoter region of Ssfdh1; SsNsd1 associates with SsFdh1 through disulfide bonds formed by conserved Cys residues. The SsNsd1-SsFdh1 interaction and nuclear translocation were found to prevent efficient binding of SsNsd1 to GATA-box DNA. Site-directed point mutation of these Cys residues influences the SsNsd1-SsFdh1 interaction and SsNsd1 DNA binding capacity. SsFdh1 is regulated by and functions jointly with the SsNsd1 factor, providing new insights into the complex transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of GATA factors. IMPORTANCE S. sclerotiorum is a pathogenic fungus with sclerotium and infection cushion development, making S. sclerotiorum one of the most challenging agricultural pathogens with no effective control method. We identified important sclerotium and compound appressorium formation determinants, SsNsd1 and SsFdh1, and investigated their regulatory mechanism at the molecular level. SsNsd1 and SsFdh1 are zinc finger motif-containing proteins and associate with each other in the nucleus. On other hand, SsNsd1, as a GATA transcription factor, directly binds to GATA-box DNA in the promoter region of Ssfdh1. The SsNsd1-SsFdh1 interaction and nuclear translocation were found to prevent efficient binding of SsNsd1 to GATA-box DNA. Our results provide insights into the role of the GATA transcription factor and its regulation of formaldehyde dehydrogenase in stress resistance, fungal sclerotium and compound appressorium development, and pathogenicity.

scholarly journals Proteomics Analysis of SsNsd1-Mediated Compound Appressoria Formation in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 2946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingtao Li ◽  
Xianghui Zhang ◽  
Le Li ◽  
Jinliang Liu ◽  
Yanhua Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Analysis ◽  
Differentially Expressed Proteins ◽  
Transcript Accumulation ◽  
Spectrometry Analysis ◽  
Peptide Mass ◽  
Appressoria Formation ◽  
Dimensional Electrophoresis ◽  
Shed Light

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a devastating necrotrophic fungal pathogen attacking a broad range of agricultural crops. In this study, although the transcript accumulation of SsNsd1, a GATA-type IVb transcription factor, was much lower during the vegetative hyphae stage, its mutants completely abolished the development of compound appressoria. To further elucidate how SsNsd1 influenced the appressorium formation, we conducted proteomics-based analysis of the wild-type and ΔSsNsd1 mutant by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). A total number of 43 differentially expressed proteins (≥3-fold change) were observed. Of them, 77% were downregulated, whereas 14% were upregulated. Four protein spots fully disappeared in the mutants. Further, we evaluated these protein sequences by mass spectrometry analysis of the peptide mass and obtained functionally annotated 40 proteins, among which only 17 proteins (38%) were identified to have known functions including energy production, metabolism, protein fate, stress response, cellular organization, and cell growth and division. However, the remaining 23 proteins (56%) were characterized as hypothetical proteins among which four proteins (17%) were predicted to contain the signal peptides. In conclusion, the differentially expressed proteins identified in this study shed light on the ΔSsNsd1 mutant-mediated appressorium deficiency and can be used in future investigations to better understand the signaling mechanisms of SsNsd1 in S. sclerotiorum.

scholarly journals pH Signaling in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum: Identification of a pacC/RIM1 Homolog

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Rollins ◽  
Martin B. Dickman
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Oxalic Acid ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Phytopathogenic Fungi ◽  
Molecular Signaling ◽  
Ph Conditions ◽  
Zinc Finger Domains

ABSTRACT Sclerotinia sclerotiorum acidifies its ambient environment by producing oxalic acid. This production of oxalic acid during plant infection has been implicated as a primary determinant of pathogenicity in this and other phytopathogenic fungi. We found that ambient pH conditions affect multiple processes in S. sclerotiorum. Exposure to increasing alkaline ambient pH increased the oxalic acid accumulation independent of carbon source, sclerotial development was favored by acidic ambient pH conditions but inhibited by neutral ambient pH, and transcripts encoding the endopolygalacturonase gene pg1 accumulated maximally under acidic culture conditions. We cloned a putative transcription factor-encoding gene, pac1, that may participate in a molecular signaling pathway for regulating gene expression in response to ambient pH. The three zinc finger domains of the predicted Pac1 protein are similar in sequence and organization to the zinc finger domains of the A. nidulans pH-responsive transcription factor PacC. The promoter of pac1 contains eight PacC consensus binding sites, suggesting that this gene, like its homologs, is autoregulated. Consistent with this suggestion, the accumulation ofpac1 transcripts paralleled increases in ambient pH. Pac1 was determined to be a functional homolog of PacC by complementation of an A. nidulans pacC-null strain with pac1. Our results suggest that ambient pH is a regulatory cue for processes linked to pathogenicity, development, and virulence and that these processes may be under the molecular regulation of a conserved pH-dependent signaling pathway analogous to that in the nonpathogenic fungus A. nidulans.

scholarly journals MADS-Box Transcription Factor SsMADS Is Involved in Regulating Growth and Virulence in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 8049-8062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Qu ◽  
Baodong Yu ◽  
Jinliang Liu ◽  
Xianghui Zhang ◽  
Guihua Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Mads Box

scholarly journals A Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Transcription Factor Involved in Sclerotial Development and Virulence on Pea

mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunkyu Sang ◽  
Hao-Xun Chang ◽  
Martin I. Chilvers
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Sclerotinia Sclerotiorum ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
White Mold ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sclerotial Development

ABSTRACT Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant-pathogenic ascomycete fungus and infects over 400 host plants, including pea (Pisum sativum L.). The fungus causes white mold on pea, and substantial yield loss is attributed to the disease. To improve white mold management, further understanding of S. sclerotiorum pathogenicity is crucial. In this study, 389 transcription factors (TFs) were mined from the complete genome sequence of S. sclerotiorum and their in planta expression patterns were determined in susceptible and partially resistant pea lines and compared to in vitro expression patterns on culture medium. One of the transcription factors was significantly induced in planta at 24 and 48 h postinfection compared to the expression in vitro. This putative C6 transcription factor of S. sclerotiorum (SsC6TF1) was knocked down using a gene-silencing approach to investigate its functions in vegetative growth and sclerotial development as well as its virulence and pathogenicity in pea. While the SsC6TF1 knockdown mutants had hyphal growth rates identical to those of the wild-type strain and were capable of infection, the knockdown mutants produced no sclerotia or significantly fewer and smaller sclerotia on the culture medium and exhibited reduced virulence on both pea lines. This study profiled genome-wide expression for S. sclerotiorum transcription factors in planta and in vitro and functionally characterized a novel transcription factor, SsC6TF1, which positively regulates sclerotial development and virulence on pea. The finding provides molecular insights into S. sclerotiorum biology and interaction with pea and other economically important crops. IMPORTANCE White mold, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a destructive disease on important legume species such as soybean, dry bean, and pea. This study investigated expression levels of transcription factors in S. sclerotiorum in planta (pea lines) and in vitro (culture medium). One transcription factor displaying high expression in planta was found to be involved in sclerotial development and virulence on pea. This report provides a new understanding regarding transcription factors of S. sclerotiorum in development and virulence.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document