Developmental and transcriptional responses to host and nonhost cuticles by the specific locust pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum.

ABSTRACT: Transcript patterns elicited in response to hosts can reveal how fungi recognize suitable hosts and the mechanisms involved in pathogenicity. These patterns could be fashioned by recognition of host-specific topographical features or by chemical components displayed or released by the host. We investigated this in the specific locust pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum. Only host (Schistocerca gregaria) cuticle stimulated the full developmental program of germination and differentiation of infection structures (appressoria). Cuticle from beetles (Leptinotarsa decimlineata) repressed germination while cuticle from hemipteran bugs (Magicicada septendecim) allowed germination but only very low levels of differentiation, indicating that the ability to cause disease can be blocked at d

SUBMITTER: Wang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1140090 | biostudies-literature | 2005 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature