{"title":"Transcriptional Activator UvXlnR Is Required for Conidiation and Pathogenicity of Rice False Smut Fungus <i>Ustilaginoidea virens</i>.","authors":"Jiali Yan, Rui Wang, Mengyao Wu, Minzheng Cai, Jinsong Qu, Lianmeng Liu, Jiatao Xie, Weixiao Yin, Chaoxi Luo","doi":"10.1094/PHYTO-01-24-0038-R","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcription factors play critical roles in diverse biological processes in fungi. XlnR, identified as a transcriptional activator that regulates the expression of the extracellular xylanase genes in fungi, has not been extensively studied for its function in fungal development and pathogenicity in rice false smut fungus <i>Ustilaginoidea virens</i>. In this study, we characterized <i>UvXlnR</i> in <i>U. virens</i> and established that the full-length, N-terminal, and C-terminal forms have the ability to activate transcription. The study further demonstrated that <i>UvXlnR</i> plays crucial roles in various aspects of <i>U. virens</i> biology. Deletion of <i>UvXlnR</i> affected growth, conidiation, and stress response. <i>UvXlnR</i> mutants also exhibited reduced pathogenicity, which could be partially attributed to the reduced expression of xylanolytic genes and extracellular xylanase activity of <i>U. virens</i> during the infection process. Our results indicate that <i>UvXlnR</i> is involved in regulating growth, conidiation, stress response, and pathogenicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20410,"journal":{"name":"Phytopathology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Phytopathology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-24-0038-R","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PLANT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Transcription factors play critical roles in diverse biological processes in fungi. XlnR, identified as a transcriptional activator that regulates the expression of the extracellular xylanase genes in fungi, has not been extensively studied for its function in fungal development and pathogenicity in rice false smut fungus Ustilaginoidea virens. In this study, we characterized UvXlnR in U. virens and established that the full-length, N-terminal, and C-terminal forms have the ability to activate transcription. The study further demonstrated that UvXlnR plays crucial roles in various aspects of U. virens biology. Deletion of UvXlnR affected growth, conidiation, and stress response. UvXlnR mutants also exhibited reduced pathogenicity, which could be partially attributed to the reduced expression of xylanolytic genes and extracellular xylanase activity of U. virens during the infection process. Our results indicate that UvXlnR is involved in regulating growth, conidiation, stress response, and pathogenicity.
期刊介绍:
Phytopathology publishes articles on fundamental research that advances understanding of the nature of plant diseases, the agents that cause them, their spread, the losses they cause, and measures that can be used to control them. Phytopathology considers manuscripts covering all aspects of plant diseases including bacteriology, host-parasite biochemistry and cell biology, biological control, disease control and pest management, description of new pathogen species description of new pathogen species, ecology and population biology, epidemiology, disease etiology, host genetics and resistance, mycology, nematology, plant stress and abiotic disorders, postharvest pathology and mycotoxins, and virology. Papers dealing mainly with taxonomy, such as descriptions of new plant pathogen taxa are acceptable if they include plant disease research results such as pathogenicity, host range, etc. Taxonomic papers that focus on classification, identification, and nomenclature below the subspecies level may also be submitted to Phytopathology.