title: MADS-box transcription factor SsMADS is involved in regulating growth and virulence in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.
abstract: MADS-box proteins, a well-conserved family of transcription factors in eukaryotic organisms, specifically regulate a wide range of cellular functions, including primary metabolism, cell cycle, and cell identity. However, little is known about roles of the MADS-box protein family in the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In this research, the S. sclerotiorum MADS-box gene SsMADS was cloned; it encodes a protein that is highly similar to Mcm1 orthologs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other fungi, and includes a highly conserved DNA-binding domain. MADS is a member of the MADS box protein SRF (serum response factor) lineage. SsMADS function was investigated using RNA interference. Silenced strains were obtained using genetic transformation of the RNA interference vectors pS1-SsMADS and pSD-SsMADS. SsMADS expression levels in silenced strains were analyzed using RT-PCR. The results showed that SsMADS mRNA expression in these silenced strains was reduced to different degrees, and growth rate in these silenced strains was significantly decreased. Infecting tomato leaflets with silenced strains indicated that SsMADS was required for leaf pathogenesis in a susceptible host. Our results suggest that the MADS-box transcription factor SsMADS is involved in S. sclerotiorum growth and virulence.
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. xiaoyanQu1988@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130033, China. ybd@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baodong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. jlliu@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jinliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. zhangxianghui@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xianghui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. liguihua@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guihua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. m186266180402@163.com.
authors.forename: Dongjing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. lile19890904@126.com.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. mewxl@163.com.
authors.forename: Xueliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. believewanglu@126.com.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. jingyuanchen90@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jingyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. muwenhui2004@163.com.
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. panhongyu@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China. yh_zhang@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D014157:Transcription Factors