Targeted Disruption of Scytalone Dehydratase Gene Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation Leads to Altered Melanin Production in Ascochyta lentis

Sustainable crop production is constantly challenged by the rapid evolution of fungal pathogens equipped with an array of host infection strategies and survival mechanisms. One of the devastating fungal pathogens that infect lentil is the ascomycete Ascochyta lentis which causes black spot or ascochyta blight (AB) on all above ground parts of the plant. In order to explore the mechanisms involved in the pathogenicity of A. lentis, we developed a targeted gene replacement method using Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation (ATMT) to study and characterize gene function. In this study, we investigated the role of scytalone dehydratase (SCD) in the synthesis of 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin in AlKewell. Two SCD genes have been identified in AlKewell, AlSCD1 and AlSCD2. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that AlSCD1 clustered with the previously characterized fungal SCDs; thus, AlSCD1 was disrupted using the targeted gene replacement vector, pTAR-hyg-SCD1. The vector was constructed in a single step process using Gibson Assembly, which facilitated an easy and seamless assembly of multiple inserts. The resulting AlKewell scd1::hyg transformants appeared light brown/brownish-pink in contrast to the dark brown pycnidia of the WT strain and ectopic transformant, indicating an altered DHN-melanin production. Disruption of AlSCD1 gene did not result in a change in the virulence profile of AlKewell towards susceptible and resistant lentil varieties. This is the first report of a targeted gene manipulation in A. lentis which serves as a foundation for the functional gene characterization to provide a better understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen diversity and host specificity.