Project description:The fungus Parastagonospora nodorum infects wheat through the use of necrotrophic effector (NE) proteins that cause host-specific tissue necrosis. The Zn2Cys6 transcription factor PnPf2 positively regulates NE gene expression and is required for virulence on wheat. Little is known about other downstream targets of PnPf2. We compared the transcriptomes of the P. nodorum wildtype and a strain deleted in PnPf2 (pf2-69) during in vitro growth and host infection to further elucidate targets of PnPf2 signalling. Gene ontology enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed (DE) genes revealed that genes associated with plant cell wall degradation and proteolysis were enriched in down-regulated DE gene sets in pf2-69 compared to SN15. In contrast, genes associated with redox control, nutrient and ion transport were up-regulated in the mutant. Further analysis of the DE gene set revealed that PnPf2 positively regulates twelve genes that encode effector-like proteins. Two of these genes encode proteins with homology to previously characterised effectors in other fungal phytopathogens. In addition to modulating effector gene expression, PnPf2 may play a broader role in the establishment of a necrotrophic lifestyle by orchestrating the expression of genes associated with plant cell wall degradation and nutrient assimilation.
Project description:Wheat (Triticum aestivum) was infiltrated with the Stagonospora nodorum effector protein SnTox3 to identify differentially regulated genes. SnTox3 was isolated from P. pastoris expression strains, purified and infiltrated into the susceptible wheat line BG220. Samples were collected 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours post infiltration (hpi) in biological triplicates. Total RNA was isolated and used for microarray analysis with the Affymetrix GeneChip Wheat Genome Array following the manufactures instructions. Resulting data were analysed using the Partek Genomics Suite.
Project description:Wheat (Triticum aestivum) was infiltrated with the Stagonospora nodorum effector protein SnTox3 to identify differentially regulated genes.
