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Project description:Fungal pathogens depend on sophisticated gene expression programs for successful infection. A crucial component is RNA regulation mediated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). However, little is known about the spatiotemporal RNA control mechanisms during fungal pathogenicity. Here, we discover that the RBP Khd4 defines a distinct mRNA regulon to orchestrate membrane trafficking during pathogenic development of Ustilago maydis. By establishing hyperTRIBE for fungal RBPs, we generated a comprehensive transcriptome-wide map of Khd4 interactions in vivo. We identify a defined set of target mRNAs enriched for regulatory proteins involved, e.g., in GTPase signaling. Khd4 controls the stability of target mRNAs via its cognate regulatory element AUACCC present in their 3' untranslated regions. Studying individual examples reveals a unique link between Khd4 and vacuole maturation. Thus, we uncover a distinct role for an RNA stability factor defining a specific mRNA regulon for membrane trafficking during pathogenicity.
| S-EPMC10450656 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fungal pathogens depend on sophisticated gene expression programs for successful infection. A crucial component is RNA regulation mediated by RNA-binding proteins. In the biotrophic fungal plant pathogen Ustilago maydis, loss of the multi KH domain containing RBP, Khd4, causes aberrant cell morphology, disturbed hyphal growth and impaired virulence. To investigate the role of Khd4 in the polar growth of infectious hyphae, we established the RNA-editing based hyperTRIBE method to detect in vivo mRNA targets.This technique is especially suited to investigate proteins of high molecular weight or low expression that are difficult to purify (McMahon et al., 2016, Xu et al., 2018, Rahman et al., 2018). HyperTRIBE exploits the RNA editing activity of the catalytic domain of ADAR (Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA) from D. melanogaster that additionally carries the mutation E488Q to increase editing (Kuttan and Bass, 2012; designated Ada). We fused the codon-optimized catalytic Ada domain with the green fluorescent protein (see Materials and methods; enhanced version, designated Gfp, Clontech) to the C terminus of Khd4 (Khd4-Ada-Gfp). As a control for background editing, we used the strain expressing Ada-Gfp protein with N-terminal Kat fusion in the wildtype background (control-Ada).
2023-07-26 | GSE224485 | GEO
Project description:Fungal pathogens depend on sophisticated gene expression programs for successful infection. A crucial component is RNA regulation mediated by RNA-binding proteins. In the biotrophic fungal plant pathogen Ustilago maydis, loss of the multi KH domain containing RBP, Khd4, causes aberrant cell morphology, disturbed hyphal growth and impaired virulence. To investigate the role of Khd4 in the polar growth of infectious hyphae, we established the RNA-editing based hyperTRIBE method to detect in vivo mRNA targets.This technique is especially suited to investigate proteins of high molecular weight or low expression that are difficult to purify (McMahon et al., 2016, Xu et al., 2018, Rahman et al., 2018). HyperTRIBE exploits the RNA editing activity of the catalytic domain of ADAR (Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA) from D. melanogaster that additionally carries the mutation E488Q to increase editing (Kuttan and Bass, 2012; designated Ada). We fused the codon-optimized catalytic Ada domain with the green fluorescent protein (see Materials and methods; enhanced version, designated Gfp, Clontech) to the C terminus of Khd4 (Khd4-Ada-Gfp). As a control for background editing, we used the strain expressing Ada-Gfp protein with N-terminal Kat fusion in the wildtype background (control-Ada). We then performed differential gene expression analysis to determine the pathological consequence of dysregulated Khd4-mediated mRNA regulation.
2023-07-26 | GSE224486 | GEO
Project description:The mRNA stability factor Khd4 defines a specific RNA regulon for membrane trafficking in the pathogen Ustilago maydis
| PRJNA931307 | ENA
Project description:The mRNA stability factor Khd4 defines a specific RNA regulon for membrane trafficking in the pathogen Ustilago maydis [hyperTRIBE]
| PRJNA934572 | ENA
Project description:The mRNA stability factor Khd4 defines a specific RNA regulon for membrane trafficking in the pathogen Ustilago maydis [RNA-Seq]
| PRJNA934430 | ENA
Project description:Ustilago maydis infection of Zea mays leads to the production of thick-walled diploid teliospores that are the dispersal agent for this pathogen. Transcriptome analyses of this model biotrophic basidiomycete fungus identified natural antisense transcripts (NATs) complementary to 247 open reading frames. The U.?maydis?NAT cDNAs were fully sequenced and annotated. Strand-specific RT-PCR screens confirmed expression and identified NATs preferentially expressed in the teliospore. Targeted screens revealed four U.?maydis?NATs that are conserved in a related fungus. Expression of NATs in haploid cells, where they are not naturally occurring, resulted in increased steady-state levels of some complementary mRNAs. The expression of one NAT, as-um02151, in haploid cells resulted in a twofold increase in complementary mRNA levels, the formation of sense-antisense double-stranded RNAs, and unchanged Um02151 protein levels. This led to a model for NAT function in the maintenance and expression of stored teliospore mRNAs. In testing this model by deletion of the regulatory region, it was determined that alteration in NAT expression resulted in decreased pathogenesis in both cob and seedling infections. This annotation and functional analysis supports multiple roles for U.?maydis?NATs in controlling gene expression and influencing pathogenesis.
| S-EPMC3739942 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can transfer diverse RNA cargo for intercellular communication. EV-associated RNAs have been found in diverse fungi and were proposed to be relevant for pathogenesis in animal hosts. In plant-pathogen interactions, small RNAs are exchanged in a cross-kingdom RNAi warfare and EVs were considered to be a delivery mechanism. To extend the search for EV-associated molecules involved in plant-pathogen communication, we have characterised the repertoire of EV-associated mRNAs secreted by the maize smut pathogen, Ustilago maydis. For this initial survey, we examined EV-enriched fractions from axenic filamentous cultures that mimic infectious hyphae. EV-associated RNAs were resistant to degradation by RNases and the presence of intact mRNAs was evident. The set of mRNAs enriched inside EVs relative to the fungal cells are functionally distinct from those that are depleted from EVs. mRNAs encoding metabolic enzymes are particularly enriched. Intriguingly, mRNAs of some known effectors and other proteins linked to virulence were also found in EVs. Furthermore, several mRNAs enriched in EVs are also upregulated during infection, suggesting that EV-associated mRNAs may participate in plant-pathogen interactions.
| S-EPMC8306574 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Here we report identification of the lkh1 gene encoding a LAMMER kinase homolog (Lkh1) from a screen for DNA repair-deficient mutants in Ustilago maydis. The mutant allele isolated results from a mutation at glutamine codon 488 to a stop codon that would be predicted to lead to truncation of the carboxy-terminal kinase domain of the protein. This mutant (lkh1(Q488*)) is highly sensitive to ultraviolet light, methyl methanesulfonate, and hydroxyurea. In contrast, a null mutant (lkh1Δ) deleted of the entire lkh1 gene has a less severe phenotype. No epistasis was observed when an lkh1(Q488*)rad51Δ double mutant was tested for genotoxin sensitivity. However, overexpressing the gene for Rad51, its regulator Brh2, or the Brh2 regulator Dss1 partially restored genotoxin resistance of the lkh1Δ and lkh1(Q488*) mutants. Deletion of lkh1 in a chk1Δ mutant enabled these double mutant cells to continue to cycle when challenged with hydroxyurea. lkh1Δ and lkh1(Q488*) mutants were able to complete the meiotic process but exhibited reduced heteroallelic recombination and aberrant chromosome segregation. The observations suggest that Lkh1 serves in some aspect of cell cycle regulation after DNA damage or replication stress and that it also contributes to proper chromosome segregation in meiosis.
| S-EPMC4526389 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The emergence of new fungal pathogens threatens sustainable crop production worldwide. One mechanism by which new pathogens may arise is hybridization. To investigate hybridization, the related smut fungi, Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum, were selected because they both infect Zea mays, can hybridize, and tools are available for their analysis. The hybrid dikaryons of these fungi grew as filaments on plates but their colonization and virulence in Z. mays were reduced compared to the parental dikaryons. The anthocyanin induction caused by the hybrid dikaryon infections was distinct, suggesting its interaction with the host was different from that of the parental dikaryons. Selected virulence genes previously characterized in U. maydis and their predicted S. reilianum orthologs had altered transcript levels during hybrid infection of Z. mays. The downregulated U. maydis effectors, tin2, pit2, and cce1, and transcription factors, rbf1, hdp2, and nlt1, were constitutively expressed in the hybrid. Little impact was observed with increased effector expression; however, increased expression of rbf1 and hdp2, which regulate early pathogenic development by U. maydis, increased the hybrid's capacity to induce symptoms including the rare induction of small leaf tumors. These results establish a base for investigating molecular aspects of smut fungal hybrid pathogen emergence.
| S-EPMC8400639 | biostudies-literature