title: SNARE protein FgVam7 controls growth, asexual and sexual development, and plant infection in Fusarium graminearum.
abstract: Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins play critical and conserved roles in membrane fusion and vesicle transport of eukaryotic cells. Previous studies have shown that various homologues of SNARE proteins are also important in the infection of host plants by pathogenic fungi. Here, we report the characterization of a SNARE homologue, FgVam7, from Fusarium graminearum that causes head blight in wheat and barley worldwide. Phylogenetic analysis and domain comparison reveal that FgVam7 is homologous to Vam7 proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScVam7), Magnaporthe oryzae (MoVam7) and several additional fungi by containing a PhoX homology (PX) domain and a SNARE domain. We show that FgVam7 plays a regulatory role in cellular differentiation and virulence in F. graminearum. Deletion of FgVAM7 significantly reduces vegetative growth, conidiation and conidial germination, sexual reproduction and virulence. The ΔFgvam7 mutant also exhibits a defect in vacuolar maintenance and delayed endocytosis. Moreover, the ΔFgvam7 mutant is insensitive to salt and osmotic stresses, and hypersensitive to cell wall stressors. Further characterization of FgVam7 domains indicate that the PX and SNARE domains are conserved in controlling Vam7 protein localization and function, respectively. Finally, FgVam7 has been shown to positively regulate the expression of several deoxynivalenol (DON) biosynthesis genes TRI5, TRI6 and TRI101, and DON production. Our studies provide evidence for SNARE proteins as an additional means of regulatory mechanisms that govern growth, differentiation and virulence of pathogenic fungi.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.|Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Zhengguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004705:Endocytosis; D005298:Fertility; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000382:microbiology; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D050600:SNARE Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D014255:Trichothecenes / Q000378:metabolism; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000378:metabolism; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D014255:Trichothecenes; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C007262:deoxynivalenol
keywords: DON; Fusarium graminearum; SNARE protein; endocytosis; plant infection