title: A highly conserved metalloprotease effector enhances virulence in the maize anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum graminicola.
abstract: Colletotrichum graminicola causes maize anthracnose, an agronomically important disease with a worldwide distribution. We have identified a fungalysin metalloprotease (Cgfl) with a role in virulence. Transcriptional profiling experiments and live cell imaging show that Cgfl is specifically expressed during the biotrophic stage of infection. To determine whether Cgfl has a role in virulence, we obtained null mutants lacking Cgfl and performed pathogenicity and live microscopy assays. The appressorium morphology of the null mutants is normal, but they exhibit delayed development during the infection process on maize leaves and roots, showing that Cgfl has a role in virulence. In vitro chitinase activity assays of leaves infected with wild-type and null mutant strains show that, in the absence of Cgfl, maize leaves exhibit increased chitinase activity. Phylogenetic analyses show that Cgfl is highly conserved in fungi. Similarity searches, phylogenetic analysis and transcriptional profiling show that C. graminicola encodes two LysM domain-containing homologues of Ecp6, suggesting that this fungus employs both Cgfl-mediated and LysM protein-mediated strategies to control chitin signalling.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sanz-Martín
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: José Ramón
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Pacheco-Arjona
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bello-Rico
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: Walter A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Mycologie, Service de Dermatologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monod
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Díaz-Mínguez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Thon
authors.affiliation: Instituto Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (CIALE), Department of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Salamanca, 37185, Villamayor, Spain.
authors.forename: Serenella A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sukno
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002686:Chitin; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D025301:Hyphae / Q000378:metabolism; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology; D059748:Proteolysis; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014774:Virulence; D003313:Zea mays / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D002686:Chitin; D045726:Metalloproteases
keywords: Colletotrichum graminicola; anthracnose; chitinase; fungalysin; host-pathogen interaction; protease