Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2021) 87 (1 - e02212-20)

Wenkui Liu, Xiaofei Liang, Mark L. Gleason, Mengyu Cao, Rong Zhang and Guangyu Sun (2021)
Transcription factor CfSte12 of Colletotrichum fructicola is a key regulator of early apple Glomerella leaf spot pathogenesis
Applied and Environmental Microbiology 87 (1 - e02212-20)
Abstract: Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), caused by Colletotrichum fructicola, is a rapidly emerging disease leading to defoliation, fruit spot, and storage fruit rot on apple in China. Little is known about the mechanisms of GLS pathogenesis. Early transcriptome analysis revealed that expression of the zinc finger transcription factor Ste12 gene in C. fructicola (CfSte12) was upregulated in appressoria and leaf infection. To investigate functions of CfSte12 during pathogenesis, we constructed gene deletion mutants (ΔCfSte12) by homologous recombination. Phenotypic analysis revealed that CfSte12 was involved in pathogenesis of nonwounded apple fruit and leaf, as well as wounded apple fruit. Subsequent histological studies revealed that loss of pathogenicity by ΔCfSte12 on apple leaf was expressed as defects of conidium germination, appressorium development, and appressorium-mediated penetration. Further RNA sequencing-based transcriptome comparison revealed that CfSte12 modulates the expression of genes related to appressorium function (e.g., genes for the tetraspanin PLS1, Gas1-like proteins, cutinases, and melanin biosynthesis) and candidate effectors likely involved in plant interaction. In sum, our results demonstrated that CfSte12 is a key regulator of early apple GLS pathogenesis in C. fructicola. In addition, CfSte12 is also needed for sexual development of perithecia and ascospores.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Mark L. Gleason, Guangyu Sun

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Colletotrichum fructicola	Apple (Malus)