title: The Stress Response Regulator AflSkn7 Influences Morphological Development, Stress Response, and Pathogenicity in the Fungus Aspergillus flavus.
abstract: This study focused on AflSkn7, which is a stress response regulator in the aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus. The ΔAflSkn7 mutants exhibited partially defective conidial formation and a complete inability to generate sclerotia, indicating AflSkn7 affects A. flavus asexual and sexual development. The mutants tolerated osmotic stress but were partially susceptible to the effects of cell wall stress. Additionally, the ΔAflSkn7 mutants were especially sensitive to oxidative stress. These observations confirmed that AflSkn7 influences oxidative stress responses rather than osmotic stress responses. Additionally, AflSkn7 was observed to increase aflatoxin biosynthesis and seed infection rates. These results indicate AflSkn7 affects A. flavus morphological development, stress response, aflatoxin production, and pathogenicity. The results of this study may facilitate the development of new methods to manage A. flavus infections.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. fzhang@fafu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. xugaopo99@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Gaopo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. glpabc2016@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Longpo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. xylu6@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. ykl_long@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Kunlong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. yuansunyuan@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. xinyi_nie@126.com.
authors.forename: Xinyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. xzhzhenhong@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhenhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. wshyyl@sina.com.
authors.forename: Shihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C000624525:Skn7 protein, Aspergillus flavus
keywords: Aspergillus flavus; aflatoxins; development; pathogenicity; stress response