The germinal centre kinase Don3 is crucial for unconventional secretion of chitinase Cts1 in Ustilago maydis.

Unconventional secretion has emerged as an increasingly important cellular process in eukaryotic cells. The underlying translocation mechanisms are diverse and often little understood. We study unconventional secretion of chitinase Cts1 in the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. This protein participates in the cytokinesis of yeast cells. During budding it localizes to the septated fragmentation zone where it presumably functions in the degradation of remnant chitin to allow separation of mother and daughter cell. However, the mechanistic details of Cts1 export remain unclear. Here we investigated the mechanism of unconventional Cts1 secretion with a focus on cytokinesis. Cell-cycle inhibition experiments supported the hypothesis that Cts1 export is connected to cytokinesis. To substantiate this finding we analysed gene deletion mutants impaired in cell separation and discovered that strains defective in secondary septum formation were affected in Cts1 export. The germinal centre kinase Don3 had a particularly strong influence on unconventional secretion. Using a synthetic switch, we unambiguously verified an essential role of Don3 for cytokinesis-dependent Cts1 export via the fragmentation zone. Thus, we gained novel insights into the mechanism of unconventional secretion and discovered the first regulatory component of this process.

Dual function of a secreted fungalysin metalloprotease in Ustilago maydis.

Fungalysins from several phytopathogenic fungi have been shown to be involved in cleavage of plant chitinases. While fungal chitinases are responsible for cell wall remodeling during growth and morphogenesis, plant chitinases are important components of immunity. This study describes a dual function of the Ustilago maydis fungalysin UmFly1 in modulation of both plant and fungal chitinases. Genetic, biochemical and microscopic experiments were performed to elucidate the in vitro and in planta functions of U. maydis UmFly1. U. maydis ∆umfly1 mutants show significantly reduced virulence, which coincides with reduced cleavage of the maize chitinase ZmChiA within its chitin-binding domain. Moreover, deletion of umfly1 affected the cell separation of haploid U. maydis sporidia. This phenotype is associated with posttranslational activation of the endogenous chitinase UmCts1. Genetic complementation of the ∆umfly1 mutant with a homologous gene from closely related, but nonpathogenic, yeast fully rescued the cell separation defect in vitro, but it could not recover the ∆umfly1 defect in virulence and cleavage of the maize chitinase. We report on the dual function of the secreted fungalysin UmFly1. We hypothesize that co-evolution of U. maydis with its host plant extended the endogenous function of UmFly1 towards the modulation of plant chitinase activity to promote infection.