title: A putative transcription factor MYT1 is required for female fertility in the ascomycete Gibberella zeae.
abstract: Gibberella zeae is an important pathogen of major cereal crops. The fungus produces ascospores that forcibly discharge from mature fruiting bodies, which serve as the primary inocula for disease epidemics. In this study, we characterized an insertional mutant Z39P105 with a defect in sexual development and identified a gene encoding a putative transcription factor designated as MYT1. This gene contains a Myb DNA-binding domain and is conserved in the subphylum Pezizomycotina of Ascomycota. The MYT1 protein fused with green fluorescence protein localized in nuclei, which supports its role as a transcriptional regulator. The MYT1 deletion mutant showed similar phenotypes to the wild-type strain in vegetative growth, conidia production and germination, virulence, and mycotoxin production, but had defect in female fertility. A mutant overexpressing MYT1 showed earlier germination, faster mycelia growth, and reduced mycotoxin production compared to the wild-type strain, suggesting that improper MYT1 expression affects the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and secondary metabolite production. This study is the first to characterize a transcription factor containing a Myb DNA-binding domain that is specific to sexual development in G. zeae.
authors: Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Yang
authors: Y
authors: Lin
authors: Hokyoung
authors: H
authors: Son
authors: Jungkwan
authors: J
authors: Lee
authors: Kyunghun
authors: K
authors: Min
authors: Gyung Ja
authors: GJ
authors: Choi
authors: Jin-Cheol
authors: JC
authors: Kim
authors: Yin-Won
authors: YW
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D015825:Chromosomes, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005298:Fertility; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005874:Gibberella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008540:Meiosis; D021381:Protein Transport; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014255:Trichothecenes / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014255:Trichothecenes; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins