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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410050
Research Project: Disease Management and Improved Detection Systems for Control of Pathogens of Vegetables and Strawberries

Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research

Title: Kss1 of Verticillium dahliae regulates virulence, microsclerotia formation, and nitrogen metabolism

Author
item LI, WENWEN - Beijing Forestry University
item LI, SA - Beijing Forestry University
item TANG, CHEN - Beijing Forestry University
item Klosterman, Steven
item WANG, YONGLIN - Beijing Forestry University

Submitted to: Microbiological Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/9/2024
Publication Date: 1/18/2024
Citation: Li, W., Li, S., Tang, C., Klosterman, S.J., Wang, Y. 2024. Kss1 of Verticillium dahliae regulates virulence, microsclerotia formation, and nitrogen metabolism. Microbiological Research. 281. Article 127608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2024.127608.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2024.127608

Interpretive Summary: The fungus Verticillium dahliae is a broad host range plant pathogen that affects numerous important crops and its survival in the soil for long periods essentially means that crop rotation is ineffective for control. The discovery and understanding of which molecules that the pathogen uses to survive long periods in the soil is critical to develop new means to control this pathogen. The long-term survival structures of this pathogen, or microsclerotia as they are known, can survive in the soil nearly 15 years. In this research, we investigated the molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression of genes important for melanin biosynthesis in V. dahliae. The research revealed that two signaling proteins that regulate melanin biosynthesis, microsclerotia formation, and nitrogen metabolism. These findings from this study may be exploited to reduce the survival of these fungi in the field.

Technical Abstract: Verticillium dahliae causes destructive vascular wilt diseases on more than 200 plant species, including economically important crops and ornamental trees worldwide. The melanized microsclerotia (MS) enable V. dahliae to survive for years in soil, thus the fungus is especially difficult to control once it has become established. Previously, we found that the mitogen activated protein kinase VdSte11 (MAPKKK) plays key roles in MS formation, penetration, and virulence in V. dahliae. In this study, two MAPK homologs of the yeast Ste7p and Kss1p were identified and characterized in V. dahliae. Deletion of VdSte7 or VdKss1 reuslted in severe defects in melaninized MS formation and virulence. Furthermore, phosphorylation assays demonstrated that VdSte11 and VdSte7 can phosphorylate VdKss1 in V. dahliae. Proteomic analysis revealed a significant change in sterol biosynthesis with a fold change of = 1.2 after the deletion of VdKss1. In addition, phosphoproteomic analysis showed that VdKss1 was involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism. Finally, we identified VdRlm1 as a potentially downstream target of VdKss1, which is involved in regulating ammonium nitrogen utilization. This study sheds light on the network of regulatory proteins in V. dahliae that affect MS formation and nitrogen metabolism.