SsUbc2, a determinant of pathogenicity, functions as a key coordinator controlling global transcriptomic reprogramming during mating in sugarcane smut fungus.

ABSTRACT: The basidiomycete fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is the causative agent of sugarcane smut disease. Mating between two strains of the opposite mating type is essential for filamentous growth and infection in sugarcane plants. However, the mechanisms underlying mating and pathogenicity are still not well understood. In this work we used gene disruption to investigate the role of Ssubc2, the gene encoding a kinase regulator in S. scitamineum. Deletion of Ssubc2 did not alter the haploid cell morphology or growth rate in vitro or tolerance to stress, but mutants with both alleles deleted lost mating ability and infectivity. Deletion of one Ssubc2 allele in a pair with a wild-type strain resulted in impaired mating and reduced virulence. Transcriptome p

SUBMITTER: Lu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9530204 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature