Silencing of the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) Fus3 and Slt2 in Pseudocercospora fijiensis Reduces Growth and Virulence on Host Plants
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers in Plant Science
Abstract
Pseudocercospora fijiensis, causal agent of the black Sigatoka disease (BSD) of Musa
spp., has spread globally since its discovery in Fiji 1963 to all the banana and plantain
growing areas across the globe. It is becoming the most damaging and economically
important disease of this crop. The identification and characterization of genes that
regulate infection processes and pathogenicity in P. fijiensis will provide important
knowledge for the development of disease-resistant cultivars. In many fungal plant
pathogens, the Fus3 and Slt2 are reported to be essential for pathogenicity. Fus3
regulates filamentous-invasion pathways including the formation of infection structures,
sporulation, virulence, and invasive and filamentous growth, whereas Slt2 is involved
in the cell-wall integrity pathway, virulence, invasive growth, and colonization in host
tissues. Here, we used RNAi-mediated gene silencing to investigate the role of the Slt2
and Fus3 homologs in P. fijiensis in pathogen invasiveness, growth and pathogenicity.
The PfSlt2 and PfFus3 silenced P. fijiensis transformants showed significantly lower gene
expression and reduced virulence, invasive growth, and lower biomass in infected leaf
tissues of East African Highland Banana (EAHB). This study suggests that Slt2 and Fus3
MAPK signaling pathways play important roles in plant infection and pathogenic growth
of fungal pathogens. The silencing of these vital fungal genes through host-induced
gene silencing (HIG) could be an alternative strategy for developing transgenic banana
and plantain resistant to BSD.
Description
Keywords
Pseudocercospora fijiensis, Mitogen-activated protein kinase, Fus3, Slt2, Pathogenicity
Citation
Onyilo F, Tusiime G, Tripathi JN, Chen L-H, Falk B, Stergiopoulos I, Tushemereirwe W, Kubiriba J and Tripathi L (2018) Silencing of the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) Fus3 and Slt2 in Pseudocercospora fijiensis Reduces Growth and Virulence on Host Plants. Front. Plant Sci. 9:291. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00291