| Summary: | In eukaryotes, Maf1 is an essential and specific negative regulator of RNA polymerase (Pol) III. Pol III, which synthesizes 5S RNA and transfer RNAs (tRNAs), is suppressed by Maf1 under the conditions of nutrient starvation or environmental stress. Here, we identified <i>M. oryzae</i> MoMaf1, a homolog of ScMaf1 in budding yeast. A heterogeneous complementation assay revealed that MoMaf1 restored growth defects in the Δ<i>Scmaf1</i> mutant under SDS stress. Destruction of <i>MoMAF1</i> elevated 5S rRNA content and increased sensitivity to cell wall agents. Moreover, the Δ<i>Momaf1</i> mutant exhibited reduced vegetative growth, conidiogenesis, and pathogenicity. Interestingly, we found that MoMaf1 underwent nuclear-cytoplasmic shuffling, through which MoMaf1 accumulated in nuclei under nutrient deficiency or upon the interaction of <i>M. oryzae</i> with rice. Therefore, this study can help to elucidate the pathogenic molecular mechanism of <i>M. oryzae</i>.
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