Activity of fungicides and modulators of membrane drug transporters in field strains of Botrytis cinerea displaying multidrug resistance

In Botrytis cinerea, multidrug resistant (MDR) strains collected in French and German vineyards were tested in vitro, at the germ-tube elongation stage, towards a wide range of fungicides. Whatever the MDR phenotype, resistance was recorded to anilinopyrimidines, diethofencarb, iprodione, fludioxonil, tolnaftate and several respiratory inhibitors (e.g., penthiopyrad, pyraclostrobin). In MDR1 strains, overproducing the ABC transporter BcatrB, resistance extended to carbendazim and the uncouplers fluazinam and malonoben. In MDR2 strains, overproducing the MFS transporter BcmfsM2, resistance extended to cycloheximide, fenhexamid and sterol 14α-demethylation inhibitors (DMIs). MDR3 strains combined the overexpression of both transporters and exhibited the widest spectrum of cross resistance and the highest resistance levels. The four transport modulators, amitriptyline, chlorpromazine, diethylstilbestrol, and verapamil, known to affect some ABC transporters, were tested in B. cinerea. In our experimental conditions, the activity of several fungicides was only enhanced by verapamil. Interestingly, synergism was only recorded in MDR2 and/or MDR3 isolates treated with tolnaftate, fenhexamid, fludioxonil or pyrimethanil, suggesting that verapamil may inhibit the MFS transporter BcmfsM2. This is the first report indicating that a known modulator of ABC transporters could also block MFS transporters.     

Functional Analysis of an ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter Gene in Botrytis cinerea by Gene Disruption

The BMR1 gene encoding an ABC transporter was cloned from Botrytis cinerea. To examine the function of BMR1 in B. cinerea, we isolated BMR1-deficient mutants after gene disruption. Disruption vector pBcDF4 was constructed by replacing the BMR1-coding region with a hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene (hph) cassette. The BMR1 disruptants had an increased sensitivity to polyoxin and iprobenfos. Polyoxin and iprobenfos, structurally unrelated compounds, may therefore be substrates of BMR1. Received 18 December 2000/ Accepted in revised form 18 April 2001     

Identification of potential virulence genes in Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937: transposon insertion into plant-upregulated genes

Erwinia chrysanthemi 3937 is a soft-rotting plant pathogen in Enterobacteriaceae. It attacks a wide range of plant host species. Previously, we identified dozens of E. chrysanthemi 3937 genes induced during plant infection by microarray differential display. Here, we have mutated plant-upregulated and putatively plant-upregulated genes in E. chrysanthemi 3937 using a transposon insertion method. Of 57 mutants produced, 8 were significantly reduced in maceration in African violet leaves. These 8 E. chrysanthemi genes are similar to Escherichia coli purU (formyltetrahydrofolate deformylase; ASAP20623) and wcaJ (undecaprenylphosphate glucosephosphotransferase; ASAP18556), Bacillus subtilis dltA (d-alanine-d-alanyl carrier protein ligase; ASAP19406), Pseudomonas syringae PSPTO2912 (ABC transporter, periplasmic glutamine-binding protein; ASAP15639), Pseudomonas aeruginosa pheC (cyclohexadienyl dehydratase; ASAP19773), P. syringae syrE (peptide synthase; ASAP19989), Vibrio vulnificus VV12303 (unknown protein; ASAP18555), and Yersinia pestis speD (S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase; ASAP20536). In some of the genes, possible roles in virulence could be postulated based on the functions of their homologues. This work demonstrated that a low proportion of pathogenicity-related genes were among the plant-upregulated genes of E. chrysanthemi 3937. This study and further dissection of these putative virulence genes should lead to new insights into infection mechanisms in pathogens.     

Distribution of the Consensus Sequences of ABC Transporter Gene among Several Taxonomically Distinct Phytopathogenic Fungi

The distribution of ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporter genes among several taxonomically distinct phytopathogenic fungi was investigated by Southern blot hybridization, polymerase chain reaction assays and partial sequencing. Consensus sequences of the ABC transporter gene, which might be concerned with multidrug resistance against fungicides and with pathogenicity in phytopathogenic fungi, were found in all of the examined phytopathogenic fungi, which belonged to the Mastigomycotina, Ascomycotina, Basidiomycotina and Deuteromycotina. Received 24 August 2000/ Accepted in revised form 5 December 2000     

Motility-mediated regulation of virulence in Pseudomonas syringae

We have investigated Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci–plant interactions using a large variety of virulence-related mutants. A flagellin-defective mutant, ΔfliC, lost flagellar motility and the ability to produce N-acyl homoserine lactones; it had reduced ability to cause disease symptoms, but the expression of genes encoding a multidrug efflux pump transporter, mexEFoprN, was activated. A type IV pili (T4P)-defective mutant, ΔpilA, lost swarming motility, had reduced expression of hrp-related genes and virulence toward the host tobacco plant, but expression of the genes encoding another multidrug efflux pump transporter, mexABoprM, was activated. These results suggest that the genes regulating flagella- and T4P-mediated motilities also regulate expression of other virulence-related genes.     

Cloning and Selective Toxicant-induced Expression of BMR1 and BMR3, Novel ABC Transporter Genes in Botrytis cinerea

Two genes, BMR1 and BMR3, encoding new members of the ABC superfamily in Botrytis cinerea, were cloned and characterized. The topologies of the encoded proteins, BMR1 and BMR3, were both (NBF-TMD₆)₂, similar to most of the toxicant-efflux ABC transporters. These genes had different induced expression patterns after treatment with various toxicants, suggesting they may have different roles in toxicant-resistance. Received 24 September 2002/ Accepted in revised form 2 December 2002     

Genetic Analysis of the Role of Trichothecene and Fumonisin Mycotoxins in the Virulence of Fusarium

The phytotoxicity of the Fusarium trichothecene and fumonisin mycotoxins has led to speculation that both toxins are involved in plant pathogenesis. This subject has been addressed by examining virulence of trichothecene and fumonisin-nonproducing mutants of Fusarium in field tests. Mutants were generated by transformation-mediated disruption of genes encoding enzymes that catalyze early steps in the biosynthesis of each toxin. Two economically important species of Fusarium were selected for these studies: the trichothecene-producing species Fusarium graminearum, which causes wheat head blight and maize ear rot, and the fumonisin-producing species F. verticillioides, which causes maize ear rot. Trichothecene-non-producing mutants of F. graminearum caused less disease than the wild-type strain from which they were derived on both wheat and maize, although differences in virulence on maize were not observed under hot and dry environmental conditions. Genetic analyses of the mutants demonstrated that the reduced virulence on wheat was caused by the loss of trichothecene production rather than by a non-target mutation induced by the gene disruption procedure. Although the analyses of virulence of fumonisin-non-producing mutants of F. verticillioides are not complete, to date, the mutants have been as virulent on maize ears as their wild-type progenitor strains. The finding that trichothecene production contributes to the virulence of F. graminearum suggests that it may be possible to generate plants that are resistant to this fungus by increasing their resistance to trichothecenes. As a result, several researchers are trying to identify trichothecene resistance genes and transfer them to crop species.     

Saccharomyces Cerevisae and Arabidopsis Thaliana: Useful Model Systems for the Identification of Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Resistance of Plants to Toxins

Secondary metabolites produced by pathogens during the infection process are thought to play a role as pathogenicity or virulence determinants in many plant diseases. Baker's yeast and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana are attractive models for elucidating molecular mechanisms of resistance to toxic substances. For the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, the following resistance mechanisms were identified in yeast: (1) reduced toxin uptake due to the ABC transporter protein Pdr5p (molecular efflux pump), (2) detoxification by the acetyltransferase Ayt1p, and (3) modification of the ribosomal target by amino acid changes in the ribosomal protein L3 (Rpl3p). PDR5-like genes exist in plant genomes as large gene families and could play an important role as a first line of defence against a broad range of toxic metabolites. Amino acid alterations in the highly conserved RPL3 genes could likewise play a role in trichothecene resistance in plants. The knowledge obtained using model systems should be valuable in biotechnological approaches to disease control and marker-assisted resistance breeding.     

苹果树腐烂病菌VmMFS1~VmMFS3基因的功能分析

为绿色持久防控苹果树腐烂病,该研究分析苹果树腐烂病菌Valsa mali的3个主要协同转运蛋白超家族（major facilitator superfamily,MFS）编码基因的氨基酸序列特征,利用实时荧光定量PCR （quantitative real-time PCR,RT-qPCR）技术分析这3个基因在苹果树腐烂病菌侵染阶段的表达水平,通过构建这3个基因的缺失突变体和回补菌株分析其在病原菌营养生长、致病力和非生物胁迫应答等方面的功能。结果表明,这3个基因的氨基酸序列均具有MFS保守结构域,将其命名为VmMFS1~VmMFS3; VmMFS1和VmMFS2的进化距离较近,均与VmMFS3的进化距离较远;在苹果树腐烂病菌侵染过程中VmMFS1~VmMFS3基因表达均显著上调;与野生型03-8菌株相比,VmMFS1~VmMFS3基因缺失突变体的菌落形态无明显差异,但生长速度下降; VmMFS1~VmMFS3基因缺失突变体的致病力均显著降低; VmMFS1~VmMFS3基因缺失突变体对H₂O₂胁迫的敏感性无明显变化,但对NaCl胁迫更敏感;基因回补后基因缺失突变体的表型缺陷能恢复到野生型菌株的水平。     

Insertional mutagenesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Magnaporthe grisea</Emphasis> toward decreased responsiveness of alternative respiration to inhibition by azoxystrobin

 Inhibitors of respiration with high affinity to the Qo site of cytochrome b constitute a major class of modern agricultural fungicides. Many fungal organisms, including plant pathogens, can circumvent this inhibition site by expressing alternative respiration, a pathway dependent on alternative oxidase and other unidentified gene products. The restriction enzyme-mediated insertion (REMI) technique was employed in this study to disrupt genes involved in the expression of fully functional alternative respiration of Magnaporthe grisea. In one of the REMI mutants obtained, the rescue response mediated by alternative respiration was completely abolished. In two other mutants, the response was diminished but not entirely silenced. For all three mutants, phenotype changes were not explained by an altered structure of the alternative oxidase gene AOXMg or by a decreased level of gene expression in response to the Qo inhibitor azoxystrobin. The gene potentially affected in one of the REMI mutants was a homolog of the ABC1 family of genes encoding chaperone-like proteins with roles in the optimal assembly of mitochondrial membrane complexes. Received: May 28, 2002 / Accepted: October 16, 2002 Acknowledgments The research was funded, in part, by financial support to C. Avila-Adame provided by the Fulbright-Garcia Robles Foundation, the Institute of International Education, CONACYT-Mexico, and the Colegio de Postgraduados-Mexico.     

Impact of fungal drug transporters on fungicide sensitivity, multidrug resistance and virulence

Drug transporters are membrane proteins that provide protection for organisms against natural toxic products and fungicides. In plant pathogens, drug transporters function in baseline sensitivity to fungicides, multidrug resistance (MDR) and virulence on host plants. This paper describes drug transporters of the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans (Eidam) Winter, Botrytis cinerea Pers and Mycosphaerella graminicola (Fückel) Schroter that function in fungicide sensitivity and resistance. The fungi possess ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters that mediate MDR to fungicides in laboratory mutants. Similar mutants are not pronounced in field resistance to most classes of fungicide but may play a role in resistance to azoles. MDR may also explain historical cases of resistance to aromatic hydrocarbon fungicides and dodine. In clinical situations, MDR development in Candida albicans (Robin) Berkhout mediated by ABC transporters in patients suffering from candidiasis is common after prolonged treatment with azoles. Factors that can explain this striking difference between agricultural and clinical situations are discussed. Attention is also paid to the risk of MDR development in plant pathogens in the future. Finally, the paper describes the impact of fungal drug transporters on drug discovery.     

梨小食心虫雄成虫、蛹和幼虫的转录组比较分析

为挖掘杀虫剂靶标及解毒代谢和抗药性相关基因，利用高通量测序技术对梨小食心虫Grapholita molesta雄成虫、蛹和幼虫进行转录组测序和数据组装，并对转录组数据进行功能注释和比较分析。结果表明，对梨小食心虫雄成虫、蛹和幼虫测序所得高质量reads组装得到195 473个转录本，含有158 206条unigene，其中有71 762条unigene在至少1个数据库中能获得功能注释，有8 186条unigene在所有数据库中均能获得注释，分别占unigene总数的45.36%和5.17%。在GO数据库中共有45 810条unigene的注释划分到56个不同功能区中，鉴定到240个与解毒代谢相关的基因，包括61个羧酸酯酶（carboxylesterases，CarE）基因、38个谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶（glutathione S-transferase，GST）基因、92个细胞色素P450酶基因和49个ABC转运蛋白基因。雄成虫和蛹之间共注释到262个代谢通路，包括42 143个基因，其中差异表达基因有1 561个；蛹和4龄幼虫之间共注释到232个代谢通路，包括39 127个基因，其中差异表达基因有1 095个；雄成虫和4龄幼虫之间共注释到235个代谢通路，包括41 436个基因，其中差异表达基因有1 582个。选择ABC转运蛋白基因进行深入分析，可划分为8个亚家族；对6个ABC转运蛋白基因进行实时荧光定量PCR验证，显示其表达情况与转录组分析结果基本一致，表明转录组分析结果可靠。     

Enhanced mycotoxin production of a lipase-deficient <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis> mutant correlates to toxin-related gene expression

Fusarium graminearum causes important diseases of small-grain cereals and maize and produces several mycotoxins. Among them, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) can accumulate in feedstuffs and foods to health-threatening levels. Although DON is important for fungal virulence in wheat, disease severity in the field does not correlate with mycotoxin concentrations. We compared gene expression and mycotoxin production of lipase-deficient mutants (Δfgl1), strongly reduced in virulence, and the respective wild-type isolate. Δfgl1 mutants exhibited up-regulated DON production during wheat head infection. On isolated wheat kernels, DON was only produced in low quantities, but higher in wild-type than in Δfgl1 mutants. In contrast, neither wild-type nor Δfgl1 mutants produced ZEA during wheat head infection. However, ZEA was clearly detectable on wheat kernels. Here, Δfgl1 mutants revealed a dramatically enhanced ZEA production. We could correlate the altered amounts of DON and ZEA directly with the expression of the toxin-related genes Tri5 for DON and PKS4 and PKS13 for ZEA. Based on Tri5 expression and the infection pattern of the wild-type and Δfgl1 mutants, we suggest that the transition zone of rachilla and rachis is important in the induction of DON synthesis. Gene expression studies indicate an involvement of the lipase FGL1 in regulation of 8 PKS genes and ZEA production.     

草地贪夜蛾Bt抗性相关lncRNA的预测及分析

为明确长链非编码RNA（long non-coding RNA,lncRNA）在草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda对Bt产生抗性中的作用,采用生物信息学预测草地贪夜蛾的lncRNA基因,并对其进行特征分析、差异表达分析、靶标基因预测以及功能富集分析。结果显示,草地贪夜蛾46个RNA-Seq数据中共有2 033个lncRNA基因,对应2 034条lncRNA转录本;与蛋白质编码基因相比,草地贪夜蛾lncRNA的外显子数量更少,转录本长度更短。草地贪夜蛾Bt抗性品系和敏感品系之间共有266个差异表达的lncRNA,其中128个上调表达,138个下调表达;在lncRNA靶标中,顺式调控和反式调控的靶标基因分别为2 129个和1 955个;靶标基因分子功能主要集中于有毒物质结合、水解酶和丝氨酸类蛋白活性等。10个差异表达的lncRNA靶向碱性磷酸酶、氨肽酶N、ABC转运蛋白、丝裂原活化蛋白激酶以及钙黏蛋白等抗性相关基因,表明lncRNA可能参与了草地贪夜蛾对Bt抗性的形成。     

SrfC of Pseudomonas cichorii JBC1 affects its attachment to the host surface and host tissue infection

Plant pathogenic Pseudomonas species produce effectors, toxins and cyclic lipopeptides to infect various host plants. Despite many studies aiming to understand the underlying mechanisms of virulence in Pseudomonas spp., the function of genes in the srf gene cluster including srfC, which was formerly known as HopL1, remains undetermined. To investigate the roles of srf genes in the virulence of the bacterial pathogen, each srfA, srfB, srfC and srfD gene from the srf cluster of Pseudomonas cichorii JBC1 was knocked out. When tomato seedlings were infected with the knockout mutants by flood inoculation, disease incidence was suppressed only in srfC-defective mutants (∆srfC) compared to wildtype. Interestingly, when the ∆srfC strain was inoculated directly into the apoplast of tomato leaves by vacuum infiltration, disease developed similar to that of the wildtype. In addition, the ∆srfC strain showed defective swarming motility and biofilm formation, and the attachment of ∆srfC cells on the leaf surface was significantly reduced compared to wildtype. Furthermore, droplets of the ∆srfC culture supernatant did not spread on a hydrophobic surface, unlike the wildtype. The results indicate that the SrfC protein plays important roles in swarming motility, biofilm formation and attachment/colonization on host surfaces; thus, it is beneficial for the pathogen's dispersion and entry into host tissues and consequently contributes to disease development. This study elucidates for the first time the functional role of srfC in P. cichorii virulence. The results will broaden understanding of plant and bacterial pathogen interactions.