A circadian oscillator in the fungus Botrytis cinerea regulates virulence when infecting Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: The circadian clock of the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana modulates defense mechanisms impacting plant-pathogen interactions. Nevertheless, the effect of clock regulation on pathogenic traits has not been explored in detail. Moreover, molecular description of clocks in pathogenic fungi--or fungi in general other than the model ascomycete Neurospora crassa--has been neglected, leaving this type of question largely unaddressed. We sought to characterize, therefore, the circadian system of the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea to assess if such oscillatory machinery can modulate its virulence potential. Herein, we show the existence of a functional clock in B. cinerea, which shares similar components and circuitry with the Neurospora circadian system, although we found that its core negative

SUBMITTER: Hevia MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4507220 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature