Putative phosphatase UvPsr1 is required for mycelial growth, conidiation, stress response and pathogenicity in Ustilaginonidea virens
Meng Xiong#; Shuai Meng#; Jiehua Qiu; Huanbin Shi; Xiangling Shen*; Yanjun Kou*
Rice Science
10.1016/j.rsci.2020.09.009
Abstract
Ustilaginoidea virens?is the causal agent of rice?false smut, which can be a highly destructive disease of rice. The?plasma membrane?phosphatase Psr1 proteins, which act as a regulator of the salinity stress response in yeast, are widely distributed across fungi, but their functional characterization is sketchy. In this study, we characterized the functions of Psr1 protein, UvPsr1, in?U. virens. Analyses of the ΔUvpsr1?and its complementation strain showed that UvPsr1 is required for normal mycelial growth,?conidiation?and tolerance to oxidative, osmotic and cell wall stresses. When rice?panicles?were inoculated with the ΔUvpsr1?strains, no symptoms of false smut disease developed, showing that?UvPSR1?also contributes to the?pathogenicity?of the fungus. The deletion mutant of?UvPSR1?also appeared to produce a smaller titer of toxic compounds able to inhibit elongation of the germinated seeds. In conclusion, our results indicated that UvPsr1 is a new pathogenic factor of?U. virens.