Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species via NOXa Is Important for Development and Pathogenicity of Mycosphaerella graminicola

Yoon E. Choi, Changsu Lee, Stephen B. Goodwin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola (synonym Zymoseptoria tritici) is an important pathogen of wheat causing economically significant losses. The primary nutritional mode of this fungus is thought to be hemibiotrophic. This pathogenic lifestyle is associated with an early biotrophic stage of nutrient uptake followed by a necrotrophic stage aided possibly by production of a toxin or reactive oxygen species (ROS). In many other fungi, the genes CREA and AREA are important during the biotrophic stage of infection, while the NOXa gene product is important during necrotrophic growth. To test the hypothesis that these genes are important for pathogenicity of M. graminicola, we employed an over-expression strategy for the selected target genes CREA, AREA, and NOXa, which might function as regulators of nutrient acquisition or ROS generation. Increased expressions of CREA, AREA, and NOXa in M. graminicola were confirmed via quantitative real-time PCR and strains were subsequently assayed for pathogenicity. Among them, the NOXa over-expression strain, NO2, resulted in significantly increased virulence. Moreover, instead of the usual filamentous growth, we observed a predominance of yeast-like growth of NO2 which was correlated with ROS production. Our data indicate that ROS generation via NOXa is important to pathogenicity as well as development in M. graminicola.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-47
Number of pages10
JournalMycobiology
Volume44
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Mar 1

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Korean Society of Mycology.

Keywords

  • AREA
  • CREA
  • Development
  • Mycosphaerella graminicola
  • NADPH oxidase
  • NOXa
  • Over expression
  • Pathogenicity
  • ROS
  • Septoria tritici blotch
  • Zymoseptoria tritici

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases

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