Understanding cargo sorting and interactive effects of membrane vesicles in fungal phytopathogens: Current knowledge and research gaps

Organisms from all kingdoms of life release membrane vesicles, which are tiny, spherical structures made of a lipid bilayer. These vesicles carry out several functions, such as forming new cell membranes, removing waste products from the cell, and transporting lipids and other substances. The payloads often contained in the vesicles are sorted via the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) pathway stepwise. Furthermore, alterations to this endomembrane system reduces formation of vesicles and produce aberrant endosomal compartments. In pathogenic fungi, studies that have generated mutants with disruption in the ESCRT genes demonstrated negative effects on virulence and growth. Despite these important roles, only a few fungal species have to date been evaluated for the ESCRT pathway. In this review, we comprehensively evaluate recent developments in the ESCRT fungal pathway and its role in plant fungal pathogenesis.