Roles of the glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles in sexual development and virulence in the cereal pathogen Gibberella zeae.

ABSTRACT: The glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles are involved in the metabolism of two- or three-carbon compounds in fungi. To elucidate the role(s) of these pathways in Gibberella zeae, which causes head blight in cereal crops, we focused on the functions of G. zeae orthologs (GzICL1 and GzMCL1) of the genes that encode isocitrate lyase (ICL) and methylisocitrate lyase (MCL), respectively, key enzymes in each cycle. The deletion of GzICL1 (DeltaGzICL1) caused defects in growth on acetate and in perithecium (sexual fruiting body) formation but not in virulence on barley and wheat, indicating that GzICL1 acts as the ICL of the glyoxylate cycle and is essential for self-fertility in G. zeae. In contrast, the DeltaGzMCL1 strains failed to grow on propionate but exhibited no major changes in other trai

SUBMITTER: Lee SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2725564 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature