MaNCP1, a C2H2 Zinc Finger Protein, Governs the Conidiation Pattern Shift through Regulating the Reductive Pathway for Nitric Oxide Synthesis in the Filamentous Fungus Metarhizium acridum

Asexual sporulation is the most common reproduction mode of fungi. Most filamentous fungi have two conidiation patterns, normal conidiation and microcycle conidiation, which may be regulated by nutritional conditions. Nitrogen source can affect the fungal conidiation pattern, but the regulatory mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we report a C2H2 zinc finger protein, MaNCP1, which has typical transcription factor characteristics and is screened from the subtractive library regulated by nitrate in the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium acridum. MaNCP1 and its N-terminal play critical roles in the conidiation pattern shift. Further study shows that MaNCP1 interacts with MaNmrA, which also contributes to the conidiation pattern shift and is involved in the reductive pathway of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. Intriguingly, the conidiation pattern of the MaNCP1-disruption strain (ΔMaNCP1) can be restored to microcycle conidiation when grown on the microcycle conidiation medium, SYA, supplemented with NO donor or overexpressing MaNmrA in ΔMaNCP1. Here, we reveal that MaNCP1 governs the conidiation pattern shift through regulating the reductive synthesis of NO by physically targeting MaNmrA in M. acridum. This work provides new mechanistic insights into how changes in nitrogen utilization are linked to the regulation of fungal morphological changes. IMPORTANCE Fungal conidia play important roles in the response to environmental stimuli and evasion of the host immune system. The nitrogen source is one of the main factors affecting shifts in fungal conidiation patterns, but the regulatory mechanism involved is not fully understood. In this work, we report that the C2H2 zinc finger protein, MaNCP1, governs the conidiation pattern shift in M. acridum by targeting the MaNmrA gene, thereby altering the regulation of the reductive pathway for NO synthesis. This work provides further insights into how the nutritional environment can regulate the morphogenesis of filamentous fungi.