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The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii

The APSES family is a unique family of transcription factors with a basic helix-loop-helix structure (APSES: Asm1p, Phd1p, Sok2p, Efg1p, and StuAp), which are key regulators of cell development and sporulation-related processes. However, the functions of the APSES family of genes in the entomopathog...

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Autores principales: Yang, Wenjing, Wu, Hao, Wang, Zhangxun, Sun, Qian, Qiao, Lintao, Huang, Bo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996154/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29922271
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01208
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author Yang, Wenjing
Wu, Hao
Wang, Zhangxun
Sun, Qian
Qiao, Lintao
Huang, Bo
author_facet Yang, Wenjing
Wu, Hao
Wang, Zhangxun
Sun, Qian
Qiao, Lintao
Huang, Bo
author_sort Yang, Wenjing
collection PubMed
description The APSES family is a unique family of transcription factors with a basic helix-loop-helix structure (APSES: Asm1p, Phd1p, Sok2p, Efg1p, and StuAp), which are key regulators of cell development and sporulation-related processes. However, the functions of the APSES family of genes in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii have not been reported. Here, we report the identification and characterization of the MrStuA gene, a member of the APSES family, in M. robertsii. The selected gene was identified as StuA in M. robertsii (MrStuA) because the gene product contains two conserved sequences, an APSES-type DNA-binding domain and a KilA DNA-binding domain, and has the highest homology with the StuA in the C-II clade of the APSES family. We found that the number of conidia produced by the ΔMrStuA strain was 94.45% lower than that in the wild type. Additionally, in the mutant, the conidia displayed an elongated shape, the sporulation was sparse and the phialide were slender. In addition, transcription levels of two central regulators of asexual development, AbaA and WetA, were significantly reduced in the mutant; furthermore, the transcription levels of other sporulation related genes, such as Mpk, Phi, Med, Aco, Flu, and FlbD, also decreased significantly. We also show that the median lethal time (LT(50)) of the mutant increased by 19%. This increase corresponded with a slower growth rate and an earlier conidia germination time compared to that of the wild strain. However, the resistance of the mutant to chemicals or physical stressors, such as ultraviolet radiation or heat, was not significantly altered. Our results indicate that in M. robertsii, MrStuA may play a crucial role in regulating sporulation as well as virulence, germination, and vegetative growth. This study improves our understanding of the impact of the transcription factor StuA on sporulation processes in filamentous fungi and provides a basis for further studies aimed at improving sporulation efficiency of these fungi for use as a biocontrol agent.
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spelling pubmed-59961542018-06-19 The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii Yang, Wenjing Wu, Hao Wang, Zhangxun Sun, Qian Qiao, Lintao Huang, Bo Front Microbiol Microbiology The APSES family is a unique family of transcription factors with a basic helix-loop-helix structure (APSES: Asm1p, Phd1p, Sok2p, Efg1p, and StuAp), which are key regulators of cell development and sporulation-related processes. However, the functions of the APSES family of genes in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii have not been reported. Here, we report the identification and characterization of the MrStuA gene, a member of the APSES family, in M. robertsii. The selected gene was identified as StuA in M. robertsii (MrStuA) because the gene product contains two conserved sequences, an APSES-type DNA-binding domain and a KilA DNA-binding domain, and has the highest homology with the StuA in the C-II clade of the APSES family. We found that the number of conidia produced by the ΔMrStuA strain was 94.45% lower than that in the wild type. Additionally, in the mutant, the conidia displayed an elongated shape, the sporulation was sparse and the phialide were slender. In addition, transcription levels of two central regulators of asexual development, AbaA and WetA, were significantly reduced in the mutant; furthermore, the transcription levels of other sporulation related genes, such as Mpk, Phi, Med, Aco, Flu, and FlbD, also decreased significantly. We also show that the median lethal time (LT(50)) of the mutant increased by 19%. This increase corresponded with a slower growth rate and an earlier conidia germination time compared to that of the wild strain. However, the resistance of the mutant to chemicals or physical stressors, such as ultraviolet radiation or heat, was not significantly altered. Our results indicate that in M. robertsii, MrStuA may play a crucial role in regulating sporulation as well as virulence, germination, and vegetative growth. This study improves our understanding of the impact of the transcription factor StuA on sporulation processes in filamentous fungi and provides a basis for further studies aimed at improving sporulation efficiency of these fungi for use as a biocontrol agent. Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-06-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5996154/ /pubmed/29922271 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01208 Text en Copyright © 2018 Yang, Wu, Wang, Sun, Qiao and Huang. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Yang, Wenjing
Wu, Hao
Wang, Zhangxun
Sun, Qian
Qiao, Lintao
Huang, Bo
The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title_full The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title_fullStr The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title_full_unstemmed The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title_short The APSES Gene MrStuA Regulates Sporulation in Metarhizium robertsii
title_sort apses gene mrstua regulates sporulation in metarhizium robertsii
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996154/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29922271
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01208
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