title: Septins are involved in nuclear division, morphogenesis and pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum.
abstract: Septins are GTP-binding proteins that regulate cell polarity, cytokinesis and cell morphogenesis. Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is one of the most devastating diseases worldwide. In this study, we have functionally characterized the core septins, Cdc3, Cdc10, Cdc11 and Cdc12 in F. graminearum. The loss of FgCdc3, FgCdc11, FgCdc12, but not FgCdc10, mutants showed significant reduction in growth, conidiation and virulence. Microscopic analyses revealed that all of them were involved in septum formation and nuclear division. Moreover, disruption of septin genes resulted in morphological defects in ascospores and conidia. Interestingly, conidia produced by ΔFgcdc3, ΔFgcdc11 and ΔFgcdc12 mutants exhibited deformation with interconnecting conidia in contrast to their parent wild-type strain PH-1 and the ΔFgcdc10 mutant that produced normal conidia. Using yeast two-hybrid assays, we determined the interactions among FgCdc3, FgCdc10, FgCdc11 and FgCdc12. Taken together, our results indicate that septins play important roles in the nuclear division, morphogenesis and pathogenicity in F. graminearum.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ahai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qiurong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yahong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Huaijian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China. Electronic address: wenhuiz@126.com.
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA. Electronic address: guangpu-li@ouhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Guangpu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticides and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: wangzh@fafu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D048750:Cell Nucleus Division; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D009024:Morphogenesis; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D058112:Septins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D058112:Septins
keywords: Fusarium graminearum; Morphogenesis; Nuclear division; Pathogenicity; Septin; Septum formation