Gene discovery for enzymes involved in limonene modification or utilization by the mountain pine beetle-associated pathogen Grosmannia clavigera.

ABSTRACT: To successfully colonize and eventually kill pine trees, Grosmannia clavigera (Gs cryptic species), the main fungal pathogen associated with the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), has developed multiple mechanisms to overcome host tree chemical defenses, of which terpenoids are a major component. In addition to a monoterpene efflux system mediated by a recently discovered ABC transporter, Gs has genes that are highly induced by monoterpenes and that encode enzymes that modify or utilize monoterpenes [especially (+)-limonene]. We showed that pine-inhabiting Ophiostomale fungi are tolerant to monoterpenes, but only a few, including Gs, are known to utilize monoterpenes as a carbon source. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that Gs can modify (+)-limonene throu

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4148792 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature