A Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway Modulates the Expression of Two Cellulase Genes in Cochliobolus heterostrophus during Plant Infection

AUTOR(ES)

Lev, Sophie

FONTE

American Society of Plant Biologists

RESUMO

Conserved eukaryotic signaling elements play an important role in the development of fungal pathogens on their hosts. Chk1, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), functions in virulence, mating, and sporulation of the maize leaf pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus. Suppression subtractive hybridization was used to identify fungal genes whose expression on the host plant is affected in chk1 deletion mutants. Two of the genes isolated in this screen were predicted to encode cellulolytic enzymes: a cellobiohydrolase, CBH7, and an endoglucanase, EG6. Expression of EG6 and CBH7 was followed by the fusion of their upstream regulatory regions to the coding sequence of the green fluorescent protein. Induction of both genes began at the onset of invasive growth and reached its maximal extent during leaf necrosis. Furthermore, EG6 was induced preferentially within necrotic lesions. Disruption of MAPK CHK1 resulted in a delay in the penetration of hyphae into the leaf and a concomitant delay in the induction of expression of both cellulase genes. In saprophytic culture, the absence of Chk1 resulted in a marked delay in the induction of CBH7 expression by crystalline cellulose. EG6 was expressed at a basal level in culture, and this expression was found to depend strictly on Chk1. Thus, the Chk1 MAPK signaling pathway is involved in the regulation of two cellulase-encoding genes and is necessary for their timely induction by environmental signals.

Documentos Relacionados

• A mitogen-activated protein kinase of the corn leaf pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus is involved in conidiation, appressorium formation, and pathogenicity: Diverse roles for mitogen-activated protein kinase homologs in foliar pathogens
• Mammalian mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) can function in a yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway downstream of protein kinase C.
• Mitogen-activated protein kinase-mediated Fas apoptotic signaling pathway
• Convergence and Divergence of Stress-Induced Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Pathways at the Level of Two Distinct Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases
• A Conserved p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway Regulates Drosophila Immunity Gene Expression