title: A sterol 14α-demethylase is required for conidiation, virulence and for mediating sensitivity to sterol demethylation inhibitors by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.
abstract: The Magnaporthe oryzae genome contains two homologous CYP51 genes, MoCYP51A and MoCYP51B, that putatively encode sterol 14α-demethylase enzymes. Targeted gene deletion mutants of MoCYP51A were morphologically indistinguishable from the isogenic wild type M. oryzae strain Guy11 in vegetative culture, but were impaired in both conidiation and virulence. Deletion of MoCYP51B did not result in any obvious phenotypic changes compared with Guy11. The Δmocyp51A mutants were also highly sensitive to sterol demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides, while Δmocyp51B mutants were unchanged in their sensitivity to these fungicides. Expression of both MoCYP51A and MoCYP51B was significantly induced by exposure to DMI fungicides. Analysis of intracellular localization of MoCyp51A showed that MoCyp51A was mainly localized to the cytoplasm of hyphae and conidia. Taken together, our results indicate that MoCYP51A is required for efficient conidiogenesis, full virulence and for mediating DMI sensitivity by the rice blast fungus.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wei-Bin
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ya-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Que
authors.forename: Zhong-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Zheng-Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D058888:14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000201:enzymology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D025301:Hyphae / Q000201:enzymology; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development*; D058886:Sterol 14-Demethylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D058888:14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D007527:Isoenzymes; D058886:Sterol 14-Demethylase