An autophagy gene, HoATG5, is involved in sporulation, cell wall integrity and infection of wounded barley leaves.
The endophytic fungus Harpophora oryzae is a beneficial endosymbiont isolated from wild rice. H. oryzae can not only promote rice growth and biomass accumulation but also protect rice roots from invasion by its close relative Magnaporthe oryzae. Autophagy is a highly evolutionary conserved process from lower to higher eukaryotic organisms, and is involved in the maintenance of normal cell differentiation and development. In this study, we isolated a gene (HoATG5) which encodes an essential protein required for autophagy from the beneficial endophyte fungus H. oryzae. Using targeted gene replacement, a ΔHoATG5 mutant was generated and used to investigate the biological functions of autophagy in H. oryzae. We found that the autophagic process was blocked in the HoATG5 deletion mutant. The mutant showed increased vegetative growth and sporulation, and was sensitive to nutrient starvation. The ΔHoATG5 mutant lost its ability to penetrate and infect the wounded barley leaves. These results provide new knowledge to elaborate the molecular machinery of autophagy in endophytic fungi.
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Ning
N
Liu
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Guo-Ao
GA
Ning
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Xiao-Hong
XH
Liu
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Xiao-Xiao
XX
Feng
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Jian-Ping
JP
Lu
Analysis Center of Agrobiology and Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Li-Juan
LJ
Mao
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Zhen-Zhu
ZZ
Su
Institute of Edible Fungi, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201106, China.
Ying
Y
Wang
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China. Electronic address: clzhang@zju.edu.cn.
Chu-Long
CL
Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China. Electronic address: fuchenglin@zju.edu.cn.
Fu-Cheng
FC
Lin
D001203:Ascomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics*; D000071187:Autophagy-Related Protein 5 / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001467:Hordeum / Q000382:microbiology*; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013172:Spores, Fungal
D000071187:Autophagy-Related Protein 5; D005656:Fungal Proteins
Autophagy; Harpophora oryzae; HoATG5; Infection; Sporulation; Vegetative growth