title: LDS1-produced oxylipins are negative regulators of growth, conidiation and fumonisin synthesis in the fungal maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides.
abstract: Oxylipins are fatty acid-derived signaling compounds produced by all eukaryotes so far investigated; in mycotoxigenic fungi, they modulate toxin production and interactions with the host plants. Among the many enzymes responsible for oxylipin generation, Linoleate Diol Synthase 1 (LDS1) produces mainly 8-hydroperoxyoctadecenoic acid and subsequently different di-hydroxyoctadecenoic acids. In this study, we inactivated a copy of the putative LDS1 ortholog (acc. N. FVEG_09294.3) of Fusarium verticillioides, with the aim to investigate its influence on the oxylipin profile of the fungus, on its development, secondary metabolism and virulence. LC-MS/MS oxylipin profiling carried out on the selected mutant strain revealed significant quali-quantitative differences for several oxylipins when compared to the WT strain. The Fvlds1-deleted mutant grew better, produced more conidia, synthesized more fumonisins and infected maize cobs faster than the WT strain. We hypothesize that oxylipins may act as regulators of gene expression in the toxigenic plant pathogen F. verticillioides, in turn causing notable changes in its phenotype. These changes could relate to the ability of oxylipins to re-shape the transcriptional profile of F. verticillioides by inducing chromatin modifications and exerting a direct control on the transcription of secondary metabolism in fungi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Scala
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Entomologia e Patologia Vegetale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giorni
authors.affiliation: Food Chemistry and Natural Substances Unit, Department of Organic and Industrial Chemistry, University of Parma Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cirlini
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ludovici
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Science, University of Turin Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Visentin
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Science, University of Turin Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cardinale
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fanelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome "Sapienza" Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reverberi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Entomologia e Patologia Vegetale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Battilani
authors.affiliation: Food Chemistry and Natural Substances Unit, Department of Organic and Industrial Chemistry, University of Parma Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galaverna
authors.affiliation: Food Chemistry and Natural Substances Unit, Department of Organic and Industrial Chemistry, University of Parma Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dall'Asta
keywords: Fusarium verticillioides; Zea mays; chromatin immunoprecipitation; genome sequencing; lipidomic