title: Use of Random T-DNA Mutagenesis in Identification of GeneUvPRO1, A Regulator of Conidiation, Stress Response, and Virulence inUstilaginoidea virens.
abstract: False smut of rice, caused byUstilaginoidea virens(Cooke) Takahashi (teleomorph:Villosiclava virens), is one of the most important diseases affecting rice worldwide.Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was used to identify functional genes inU. virens. In this study, we selected a single-copy insertion mutant T133 with deficiency in producing conidia by screening the T-DNA insertion mutant library ofU. virens. TheUvPRO1-deletion mutant was successfully obtained after cloning the targeted gene by analysis of the T-DNA insert site of mutant T133. Further research showed that theUvPRO1mutant was reduced in growth rate and could not produce conidia in PSB medium, while sensitivities to sodium dodecyl sulfate, Congo red, and hyperosmotic stress increased. Moreover, theUvPRO1deletion mutant hyphae could extend along the surface of spikelets at 1-3 dpi, but mycelia became shriveled and completely lost the ability to infect spikelets at 4 dpi. The relative expression level ofUvPRO1at 8 dpi was more than twice as high as that at 1-2 dpi. These results suggest thatUvPRO1plays a critical role in hyphal growth and conidiation, as well as in stress response and pathogenesis. These findings provide a novel mode of action for thePRO1protein in fungi and improve the understanding of the function ofUvPRO1in the life cycle ofU. virens.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jintian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hsiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jinbin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Ustilaginoidea virens; UvPRO1; conidiation; false smut; pathogenicity; stress response