Leucine metabolism regulates TRI6 expression and affects deoxynivalenol production and virulence in Fusarium graminearum
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ABSTRACT: TRI6 is a positive regulator of the trichothecene gene cluster and the production of trichothecene mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol [DON] and acetylated forms such as 15-ADON) in the cereal pathogen F. graminearum. As a global transcriptional regulator, TRI6 expression is modulated by nitrogen-limiting conditions, sources of nitrogen and carbon, pH, and light. However, the mechanism by which these diverse environmental factors affect TRI6 expression remains under-explored. In our effort to understand how nutrients affect TRI6 regulation, comparative digital expression profiling was performed with a wildtype F. graminearum and a Δtri6 mutant strain, grown in nutrient-rich conditions. Analysis showed that TRI6 negatively regulates genes of the branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolic pathway. Feeding studies with deletion mutants of MCC, encoding methylcrotonyl-CoA-carboxylase, one of the key enzymes of leucine metabolism, showed that addition of leucine specifically down regulated TRI6 expression and reduced 15-ADON accumulation. Constitutive expression of TRI6 in the Δmcc mutant strain restored 15-ADON production. A combination of cellophane breach assays and pathogenicity experiments on wheat demonstrated that disrupting the leucine metabolic pathway significantly reduced disease. These findings suggest a complex interaction between one of the primary metabolic pathways with a global regulator of mycotoxin biosynthesis and virulence in F. graminearum.
ORGANISM(S): Fusarium graminearum
PROVIDER: GSE71604 | GEO | 2015/08/01
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA291605
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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