title: Ss-Sl2, a novel cell wall protein with PAN modules, is essential for sclerotial development and cellular integrity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.
abstract: The sclerotium is an important dormant body for many plant fungal pathogens. Here, we reported that a protein, named Ss-Sl2, is involved in sclerotial development of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Ss-Sl2 does not show significant homology with any protein of known function. Ss-Sl2 contains two putative PAN modules which were found in other proteins with diverse adhesion functions. Ss-Sl2 is a secreted protein, during the initial stage of sclerotial development, copious amounts of Ss-Sl2 are secreted and accumulated on the cell walls. The ability to maintain the cellular integrity of RNAi-mediated Ss-Sl2 silenced strains was reduced, but the hyphal growth and virulence of Ss-Sl2 silenced strains were not significantly different from the wild strain. Ss-Sl2 silenced strains could form interwoven hyphal masses at the initial stage of sclerotial development, but the interwoven hyphae could not consolidate and melanize. Hyphae in these interwoven bodies were thin-walled, and arranged loosely. Co-immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid experiments showed that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), Woronin body major protein (Hex1) and elongation factor 1-alpha interact with Ss-Sl2. GAPDH-knockdown strains showed a similar phenotype in sclerotial development as Ss-Sl2 silenced strains. Hex1-knockdown strains showed similar impairment in maintenance of hyphal integrity as Ss-Sl2 silenced strains. The results suggested that Ss-Sl2 functions in both sclerotial development and cellular integrity of S. sclerotiorum.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Daohong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jiatao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Jiasen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xianhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001483:Base Sequence; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism; D025301:Hyphae / Q000378:metabolism*; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D025282:Mycelium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048630:Polyketide Synthases / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008543:Melanins; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D048630:Polyketide Synthases; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases