title: Characterization of a Ran gene from Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici involved in fungal growth and anti-cell death.
abstract: Ran, an important family of small GTP-binding proteins, has been shown to regulate a variety of important cellular processes in many eukaryotes. However, little is known about Ran function in pathogenic fungi. In this study, we report the identification and functional analysis of a Ran gene (designated PsRan) from Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), an important fungal pathogen affecting wheat production worldwide. The PsRan protein contains all conserved domains of Ran GTPases and shares more than 70% identity with Ran proteins from other organisms, indicating that Ran proteins are conserved in different organisms. PsRan shows a low level of intra-species polymorphism and is localized to the nucleus. qRT-PCR analysis showed that transcript level of PsRan was induced in planta during Pst infection. Silencing of PsRan did not alter Pst virulence phenotype but impeded fungal growth of Pst. In addition, heterologous overexpression of PsRan in plant failed to induce cell death but suppressed cell death triggered by a mouse BAX gene or a Pst Ras gene. Our results suggest that PsRan is involved in the regulation of fungal growth and anti-cell death, which provides significant insight into Ran function in pathogenic fungi.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Juanni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yanru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Shumin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Zhensheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000382:microbiology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger