A tannic acid-inducible and hypoviral-regulated Laccase3 contributes to the virulence of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica.
Mol Plant Microbe Interact
; 21(12): 1582-90, 2008 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18986254
ABSTRACT
A new laccase gene (lac3) from the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica was induced by the presence of tannic acid, which is abundant in the bark of chestnut trees and is assumed to be one of the major barriers against pathogen infection. However, other commonly known laccase inducers, including ferulic acid, 2,5-xylidine, catechol, and pH, did not induce lac3 transcription. Moreover, the hypovirus modulated the induction of lac3 transcription, abolishing the transcriptional induction of the lac3 gene by tannic acid. A functional analysis of lac3 using a lac3-null mutant indicated that fungal growth and other morphological characteristics, including pigmentation and sporulation, were not affected. However, a virulence assay indicated that the loss of function of a tannic acid-inducible and hypoviral-regulated laccase resulted in reduced virulence without detectable changes in the morphological features. The constitutive expression of lac3 resulted in no significant differences in the necrotic lesions from those caused by the wild type, but its expression in the presence of the hypovirus led to larger lesions than those caused by the hypovirulent strain. These results suggest that the lac3 gene product may not be the only determinant of fungal virulence in chestnut trees but is an important factor.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ascomycota
/
RNA Viruses
/
Tannins
/
Fungal Proteins
/
Laccase
Language:
En
Journal:
Mol Plant Microbe Interact
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
BOTANICA
/
MICROBIOLOGIA
Year:
2008
Document type:
Article