title: Prb1, a subtilisin-like protease, is required for virulence and phenotypical traits in the chestnut blight fungus.
abstract: Subtilisin-like proteases are widely distributed and reported to be required for virulence in pathogenic fungi. In chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, prb1, encoding a putative subtilisin-like protease, was expressed and recombinant Prb1 protein was shown to have a protease activity in vitro. prb1-deleted mutants exhibited reduced total protease activity by 60%. The Δprb1 mutants showed a phenotype of reduced aerial hyphae, lower level of sporulation, and a significant reduction in virulence. Additionally, site-directed mutagenesis of Prb1 protein revealed that D195, H227, and S393 are critical for C. parasitica Prb1 function in vivo. Transcriptional analysis showed that deletion of prb1 also reduced the transcript accumulation levels for genes encoding key components of the heterotrimeric G-protein signaling pathway, including cpga1, cpgb1, cpgc1, and ste12. Furthermore, deletion of prb1 results in the accumulation of autophagic bodies in the fungus. Taken together, our results showed that prb1-encoded protease functions in the regulation of virulence, phenotypical traits, and autophagy in C. parasitica.
authors: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources and Key Laboratory for Microbial and Plant Genetic Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.
authors: Liming
authors: L
authors: Shi
authors: Ru
authors: R
authors: Li
authors: Suhuan
authors: S
authors: Liao
authors: Lingyun
authors: L
authors: Bai
authors: Qunfeng
authors: Q
authors: Lu
authors: Baoshan
authors: B
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D029962:Fagaceae / Q000382:microbiology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D025301:Hyphae / Q000254:growth & development; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases
keywords: Prb1; autophagy; chestnut blight fungus; subtilisin-like protease; virulence