Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>
<i>Botrytis cinerea</i> is a necrotrophic model fungal plant pathogen that causes grey mould, a devastating disease responsible for large losses in the agriculture sector. As important targets of fungicides, membrane proteins are hot spots in the research and development of fungicide pro...
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/5/1225 |
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| author | Wei Zhang Bei-Bei Ge Zhao-Yang Lv Kyung Seok Park Li-Ming Shi Ke-Cheng Zhang |
| author_facet | Wei Zhang Bei-Bei Ge Zhao-Yang Lv Kyung Seok Park Li-Ming Shi Ke-Cheng Zhang |
| author_sort | Wei Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> is a necrotrophic model fungal plant pathogen that causes grey mould, a devastating disease responsible for large losses in the agriculture sector. As important targets of fungicides, membrane proteins are hot spots in the research and development of fungicide products. We previously found that membrane protein Bcest may be closely related to the pathogenicity of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>. Herein, we further explored its function. We generated and characterised Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants of <i>B. cinerea</i> and constructed complemented strains. The Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants exhibited reduced conidia germination and germ tube elongation. The functional activity of Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants was investigated by reduced necrotic colonisation of <i>B. cinerea</i> on grapevine fruits and leaves. Targeted deletion of Bcest also blocked several phenotypic defects in aspects of mycelial growth, conidiation and virulence. All phenotypic defects were restored by targeted-gene complementation. The role of Bcest in pathogenicity was also supported by reverse-transcriptase real-time quantitative PCR results indicating that melanin synthesis gene <i>Bcpks</i>13 and virulence factor <i>Bccdc</i>14 were significantly downregulated in the early infection stage of the Δ<i>Bcest</i> strain. Taken together, these results suggest that Bcest plays important roles in the regulation of various cellular processes in <i>B. cinerea</i>. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:28:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-8049b075ab674fbfa9c94bcc733333c32023-11-18T02:33:38ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-05-01115122510.3390/microorganisms11051225Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>Wei Zhang0Bei-Bei Ge1Zhao-Yang Lv2Kyung Seok Park3Li-Ming Shi4Ke-Cheng Zhang5State Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, ChinaInternational Agricultural Technology Information Institute, Hankyong National University, 327 Jungang Road, Anseong 17579, Republic of KoreaState Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China<i>Botrytis cinerea</i> is a necrotrophic model fungal plant pathogen that causes grey mould, a devastating disease responsible for large losses in the agriculture sector. As important targets of fungicides, membrane proteins are hot spots in the research and development of fungicide products. We previously found that membrane protein Bcest may be closely related to the pathogenicity of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i>. Herein, we further explored its function. We generated and characterised Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants of <i>B. cinerea</i> and constructed complemented strains. The Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants exhibited reduced conidia germination and germ tube elongation. The functional activity of Δ<i>Bcest</i> deletion mutants was investigated by reduced necrotic colonisation of <i>B. cinerea</i> on grapevine fruits and leaves. Targeted deletion of Bcest also blocked several phenotypic defects in aspects of mycelial growth, conidiation and virulence. All phenotypic defects were restored by targeted-gene complementation. The role of Bcest in pathogenicity was also supported by reverse-transcriptase real-time quantitative PCR results indicating that melanin synthesis gene <i>Bcpks</i>13 and virulence factor <i>Bccdc</i>14 were significantly downregulated in the early infection stage of the Δ<i>Bcest</i> strain. Taken together, these results suggest that Bcest plays important roles in the regulation of various cellular processes in <i>B. cinerea</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/5/1225Bcest<i>Botrytis cinerea</i>germinationhyphal growthpathogenicitystress tolerance |
| spellingShingle | Wei Zhang Bei-Bei Ge Zhao-Yang Lv Kyung Seok Park Li-Ming Shi Ke-Cheng Zhang Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> Microorganisms Bcest <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> germination hyphal growth pathogenicity stress tolerance |
| title | Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> |
| title_full | Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> |
| title_fullStr | Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> |
| title_short | Membrane Protein Bcest Is Involved in Hyphal Growth, Virulence and Stress Tolerance of <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> |
| title_sort | membrane protein bcest is involved in hyphal growth virulence and stress tolerance of i botrytis cinerea i |
| topic | Bcest <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> germination hyphal growth pathogenicity stress tolerance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/5/1225 |
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