Project description:Ustilago maydis is a plant-pathogenic fungus that establishes a biotrophic relationship with its host Zea mays. The biotrophic interaction is initiated upon host penetration, and involves expansion of the host plasma membrane around hyphae, which is thought to facilitate the exchange of nutrients and virulence factors. Transcriptional regulators involved in the establishment of an infectious dikaryon and penetration into the host have been identified, however, regulators involved in the post-penetration stages remained to be elucidated. In the study we report the identification of an Ustilago maydis forkhead transcription factor, Fox1, which is exclusively expressed during biotrophic development. Deletion of fox1 results in reduced virulence and impaired tumour development in planta. Microarray analyses of Δfox1-infected plant tissue identified Fox1 as a transcriptional activator, involved in the expression of secreted effectors required for virulence.
Project description:The fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis establishes a biotrophic relationship with its host plant maize. Hallmarks of the disease are large plant tumors in which fungal proliferation occurs. Plants have developed various defense pathways to cope with pathogens. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression during the infection process of Ustilago maydis in its host plant to get insights into the defense programs and the metabolic reprogramming needed to supply the fungus with nutrients. Keywords: time course
Project description:Study of gene regulation basidiocarps development in Ustilago maydis using transcriptomic analysis. In 2012, Cabrera-Ponce et al. established conditions allowing a completely different developmental program in U. maydis when grown on solid medium containing Dicamba (synthetic auxin) in dual cultures with maize embryogenic calli.
Project description:Ustilago maydis is a plant-pathogenic fungus that establishes a biotrophic relationship with its host Zea mays. The biotrophic interaction is initiated upon host penetration, and involves expansion of the host plasma membrane around hyphae, which is thought to facilitate the exchange of nutrients and virulence factors. Transcriptional regulators involved in the establishment of an infectious dikaryon and penetration into the host have been identified, however, regulators involved in the post-penetration stages remained to be elucidated. In the study we report the identification of an Ustilago maydis forkhead transcription factor, Fox1, which is exclusively expressed during biotrophic development. Deletion of fox1 results in reduced virulence and impaired tumour development in planta. Δfox1 hyphae induce plant defences including the overproduction and accumulation of H2O2 in and around infected cells. This oxidative burst acts as an intercellular signal, which elicits a specific host defence response phenotypically represented by the encasement of proliferating hyphae in extensions of the plant cell wall. Maize microarrays experiments were performed to identify genes involved in the observed plant defence responses on leaf tissue infected with U. maydis strain SG200∆fox1 4 dpi.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE18750: Controlled expression of compatible and incompatible combinations of Ustilago maydis b-mating type locus genes bE and bW GSE18754: Effect of rbf1 deletion during controlled expression of of Ustilago maydis b-mating type locus genes bE1 and bW2 GSE18756: Rbf1 induced gene expression in Ustilago maydis Refer to individual Series
Project description:mRNAs comparison between Ustilago maydis wild type grown in diluted YEPS (control) and in cell-free supernatants of Ustilago maydis wild type treated with H202 in two different concentrations (0.4% and 0.7%).
Project description:In this project, we conducted a quantitative analysis of secreted proteins during the initial stages of the pathogenic program in Ustilago maydis. We utilized the AB33 strain, which contains the compatible bE2/bW1 genes controlled by the nitrate-inducible nar1 promoter. Consequently, in nitrogen-rich media, the virulence program is initiated, leading to the development of filaments. Filamentation was induced for 5 hours in minimal medium supplemented with NO3 (MM-NO3) in both the AB33 wild-type and Δrow1 strains. Subsequently, samples were collected, precipitated, processed, and analyzed.
Project description:The fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis establishes a biotrophic relationship with its host plant maize. Hallmarks of the disease are large plant tumors in which fungal proliferation occurs. Plants have developed various defense pathways to cope with pathogens. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression during the infection process of Ustilago maydis in its host plant to get insights into the defense programs and the metabolic reprogramming needed to supply the fungus with nutrients. Experiment Overall Design: In three independent experiments plants were infected with the solopathogenic U. maydis strain SG200. Samples from infected leaves were taken at 12 and 24 hours post infection, as well as 2, 4 and 8 days post infection. Samples from uninfected control plants were taken at the same time points.