The wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici senses and responds to different wavelengths of light

Authors: MCCORRISON, CASSANDRA - PURDUE UNIVERSITY; Goodwin, Stephen - Steve

Submitted to: BMC Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2020
Publication Date: 7/25/2020
Citation: Mccorrison, C.B., Goodwin, S.B. 2020. The wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici senses and responds to different wavelengths of light. BMC Genomics. 21:513 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-020-06899-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-020-06899-y

Interpretive Summary: Septoria tritici blotch is an economically important disease of wheat, but whether the causal organism, Zymposeptoria tritici, can sense and respond to light is not known. To test the hypothesis that this fungus can sense and respond to light, cultures were grown under white, blue, or red light and compared to cultures kept in the dark. Analysis of activated genes under these conditions showed that many genes are differentially activated in response to the presence or absence of light, including those for growth, development, and stress. These results will be important to biologists studying fungal growth and metabolism, and to plant pathologists planning future analysis of pathogenicity in this fungus. Fungicide companies may be able to use this information to develop products that disrupt the growth of the pathogen.

Technical Abstract: The ascomycete fungus Zymoseptoria tritici (synonym: Mycosphaerella graminicola) is a major pathogen of wheat, and the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch disease. Despite its importance as a pathogen, nothing is known about the reaction of this fungus to light. Cultures of Z. tritici were grown in vitro under three light conditions, white, blue and red, and compared to control cultures grown in darkness. The transcriptome data from these four conditions were compared to analyze the differences in gene expression. There were major differences in gene expression between the three light conditions and the dark condition, and minor differences between the three individual light conditions. Analysis of the Gene Ontology (GO) terms of the differentially expressed genes helped to categorize the major differences between the three light conditions and the dark-grown cultures. GO terms related to metabolism were enriched in all three light treatments, while those related to growth and communication were more common in the dark. This analysis shows that not only can Z. tritici sense and respond to light, but that light has a profound effect on growth and development of this fungus.