Abstract
To cause rice blast disease, the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae develops a specialized infection structure called an appressorium. This dome-shaped, melanin-pigmented cell generates enormous turgor and applies physical force to rupture the rice leaf cuticle using a rigid penetration peg. Appressorium-mediated infection requires septin-dependent reorientation of the F-actin cytoskeleton at the base of the infection cell, which organizes polarity determinants necessary for plant cell invasion. Here, we show that plant infection by M. oryzae requires two independent S-phase cell-cycle checkpoints. Initial formation of appressoria on the rice leaf surface requires an S-phase checkpoint that acts through the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, involving the Cds1 kinase. By contrast, appressorium repolarization involves a novel, DDR-independent S-phase checkpoint, triggered by appressorium turgor generation and melanization. This second checkpoint specifically regulates septin- dependent, NADPH oxidase-regulated F-actin dynamics to organize the appressorium pore and facilitate entry of the fungus into host tissue.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | E237-E244 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
Volume | 114 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 27 Dec 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Jan 2017 |
Keywords
- fungi
- pathogen
- Pyricularia
- appressorium
- cell cycle
- ASPERGILLUS-NIDULANS
- DNA-DAMAGE
- CELL-CYCLE
- GRISEA
- PENETRATION
- GROWTH
- BIOLOGY
- KINASE
- YEAST
- PATHOGENICITY
Profiles
-
Nicholas Talbot
- The Sainsbury Laboratory - Executive Director (TSL)
- Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging - Member
Person: Research Centre Member, Academic, Teaching & Research