The Transcription Factor Rbf1 Is the Master Regulator for b-Mating Type Controlled Pathogenic Development in Ustilago maydis

PLoS Pathogens

Volker Vincon¹  Chetsada Pothiratana¹  Kai Heimel¹  Jörg Kämper²  Miroslav Vranes³  Florian Finkernagel³  Mario Scherer³  Ignacio Flor-Parra³  David Schuler³  Ramon Wahl⁴ 

[1] Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Department of Genetics, Karlsruhe, Germany;Kasetsart University, Department of Microbiology, Bangkok, Thailand;MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology, Department for Organismic Interactions, Marburg, Germany;Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany

关键词: Gene regulation;    Cell cycle;    cell division;    Transcription factors;    Ustilago maydis;    Gene expression;    Regulator genes;    Transcriptional control;    Plant fungal pathogens;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1001035

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

In the phytopathogenic basidiomycete Ustilago maydis, sexual and pathogenic development are tightly connected and controlled by the heterodimeric bE/bW transcription factor complex encoded by the b-mating type locus. The formation of the active bE/bW heterodimer leads to the formation of filaments, induces a G2 cell cycle arrest, and triggers pathogenicity. Here, we identify a set of 345 bE/bW responsive genes which show altered expression during these developmental changes; several of these genes are associated with cell cycle coordination, morphogenesis and pathogenicity. 90% of the genes that show altered expression upon bE/bW-activation require the zinc finger transcription factor Rbf1, one of the few factors directly regulated by the bE/bW heterodimer. Rbf1 is a novel master regulator in a multilayered network of transcription factors that facilitates the complex regulatory traits of sexual and pathogenic development.

【 授权许可】

CC BY