MAT Loci Play Crucial Roles in Sexual Development but Are Dispensable for Asexual Reproduction and Pathogenicity in Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

Journal of Fungi

Xiao-xiao Feng¹  Xiao-hong Liu²  Ling Li³  Zhen Zhang⁴  Lin Li⁴  Guo-chang Sun⁴  Jiao-yu Wang⁴  Hai-ping Qiu⁴  Zhong-na Hao⁴  Yan-li Wang⁴  Rong-yao Chai⁴  Fu-cheng Lin⁴  Xue-ming Zhu⁴  Shi-zhen Wang⁴  Xiao-xiao Shi⁴ 

[1] Agricultural Experiment Station, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;School of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forest University, Hangzhou 311300, China;State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China;

关键词: MAT loci;    MAT genes;    sexual reproduction;    pathogenicity;    Magnaporthe oryzae;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jof7100858

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Magnaporthe oryzae, a fungal pathogen that causes rice blast, which is the most destructive disease of rice worldwide, has the potential to perform both asexual and sexual reproduction. MAT loci, consisting of MAT genes, were deemed to determine the mating types of M. oryzae strains. However, investigation was rarely performed on the development and molecular mechanisms of the sexual reproduction of the fungus. In the present work, we analyzed the roles of two MAT loci and five individual MAT genes in the sex determination, sexual development and pathogenicity of M. oryzae. Both of the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 loci are required for sex determination and the development of sexual structures. MAT1-1-1, MAT1-1-3 and MAT1-2-1 genes are crucial for the formation of perithecium. MAT1-1-2 impacts the generation of asci and ascospores, while MAT1-2-2 is dispensable for sexual development. A GFP fusion experiment indicated that the protein of MAT1-1-3 is distributed in the nucleus. However, all of the MAT loci or MAT genes are dispensable for vegetative growth, asexual reproduction, pathogenicity and pathogenicity-related developments of the fungus, suggesting that sexual reproduction is regulated relatively independently in the development of the fungus. The data and methods of this work may be helpful to further understand the life cycle and the variation of the fungus.

【 授权许可】

Unknown