Involvement of FgERG4 in ergosterol biosynthesis, vegetative differentiation and virulence in Fusarium graminearum.

ABSTRACT: The ergosterol biosynthesis pathway is well understood in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but currently little is known about the pathway in plant-pathogenic fungi. In this study, we characterized the Fusarium graminearum FgERG4 gene encoding sterol C-24 reductase, which catalyses the conversion of ergosta-5,7,22,24-tetraenol to ergosterol in the final step of ergosterol biosynthesis. The FgERG4 deletion mutant ΔFgErg4-2 failed to synthesize ergosterol. The mutant exhibited a significant decrease in mycelial growth and conidiation, and produced abnormal conidia. In addition, the mutant showed increased sensitivity to metal cations and to various cell stresses. Surprisingly, mycelia of ΔFgErg4-2 revealed increased resistance to cell wall-degrading enzymes. Fungicide sensitivity tests revealed tha

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6638626 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature