GATA-Dependent Glutaminolysis Drives Appressorium Formation in Magnaporthe oryzae by Suppressing TOR Inhibition of cAMP/PKA Signaling.

ABSTRACT: Fungal plant pathogens are persistent and global food security threats. To invade their hosts they often form highly specialized infection structures, known as appressoria. The cAMP/ PKA- and MAP kinase-signaling cascades have been functionally delineated as positive-acting pathways required for appressorium development. Negative-acting regulatory pathways that block appressorial development are not known. Here, we present the first detailed evidence that the conserved Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway is a powerful inhibitor of appressorium formation by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. We determined TOR signaling was activated in an M. oryzae mutant strain lacking a functional copy of the GATA transcription factor-encoding gene ASD4. Δasd4 mutant strains could not form

SUBMITTER: Marroquin-Guzman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4406744 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature