Involvement of Botrytis cinerea small GTPases BcRAS1 and BcRAC in differentiation, virulence, and the cell cycle.

ABSTRACT: Small GTPases of the Ras superfamily are highly conserved proteins that are involved in various cellular processes, in particular morphogenesis, differentiation, and polar growth. Here we report on the analysis of RAS1 and RAC homologues from the gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea. We show that these small GTPases are individually necessary for polar growth, reproduction, and pathogenicity, required for cell cycle progression through mitosis (BcRAC), and may lie upstream of the stress-related mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. bcras1 and bcrac deletion strains had reduced growth rates, and their hyphae were hyperbranched and deformed. In addition, both strains were vegetatively sterile and nonpathogenic. A strain expressing a constitutively active (CA) allele of the

SUBMITTER: Minz Dub A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3889569 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature