Universality of the Phytophthora mating hormones and diversity of their production profile.

ABSTRACT: Sexual reproduction of the plant pest Phytophthora is regulated by two mating hormones ?1 and ?2, which are acyclic oxygenated diterpenes first isolated from P. nicotianae A1 and A2 mating types, respectively. A previous report suggested the universality of these factors within this genus. To confirm this concept, we investigated 80 strains (19 species) of Phytophthora and a related genus, not only for the responsiveness to mating hormones but also for their productivity. The results indicated that among the 55 heterothallic strains, 24 (44%) responded to a mating hormone and 40 (73%) produced one or both hormones. These findings demonstrate the interspecies universality of mating hormones within the genus Phytophthora. Hormone productivity was found to be highly diverse and dependent on the strains used. Although the A2 mating type has been regarded as the ?2 producer, 19 (59%) of the 32 A2-type strains produced both the hormones and two A2-type strains exclusively produced ?1 in high yields. These results indicate that hormone biosynthesis in Phytophthora is universal but highly diverse and complex, and varies with culture conditions, providing us valuable information for future studies on the mechanism of mating hormone biosynthesis of Phytophthora.

SUBMITTER: Tomura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5504046 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature