Journal Article

The velvet protein Vel1 controls initial plant root colonization and conidia formation for xylem distribution in Verticillium wilt

Harting, Rebekka, Starke, Jessica, Bayram, Özgür, Höfer, Annalena M., Aßmann, Nils F., Schmitt, Kerstin, Gerke, Jennifer, Braus, Gerhard H., Braus-Stromeyer, Susanna A., Tran, Van-Tuan, Valerius, Oliver

2021

Overview

The conserved fungal velvet family regulatory proteins link development and secondary metabolite production. The velvet domain for DNA binding and dimerization is similar to the structure of the Rel homology domain of the mammalian NF-κB transcription factor. A comprehensive study addressed the functions of all four homologs of velvet domain encoding genes in the fungal life cycle of the soil-borne plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae . Genetic, cell biological, proteomic and metabolomic analyses of Vel1, Vel2, Vel3 and Vos1 were combined with plant pathogenicity experiments. Different phases of fungal growth, development and pathogenicity require V . dahliae velvet proteins, including Vel1-Vel2, Vel2-Vos1 and Vel3-Vos1 heterodimers, which are already present during vegetative hyphal growth. The major novel finding of this study is that Vel1 is necessary for initial plant root colonization and together with Vel3 for propagation in planta by conidiation. Vel1 is needed for disease symptom induction in tomato. Vel1, Vel2, and Vel3 control the formation of microsclerotia in senescent plants. Vel1 is the most important among all four V . dahliae velvet proteins with a wide variety of functions during all phases of the fungal life cycle in as well as ex planta .

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Amino acids / Annotations / Apoptotic proteins / Asexuality / Biology and Life Sciences / Biosynthesis / C-Terminus / Colonization / Conidia / Contamination / Control / Cotton verticillium wilt / Dimerization / Diseases and pests / Distribution / DNA-Binding Proteins / Exons / Fungal Proteins - chemistry / Fungal Proteins - genetics / Fungal Proteins - metabolism / Fungi / Genes / Host-Pathogen Interactions / Introns / Kinases / Localization / Mass spectrometry / Metabolism / Metabolites / Models, Biological / Pathogens / Phenotype / Physiological aspects / Plant Diseases - genetics / Plant Diseases - microbiology / Plant Roots - metabolism / Plant Roots - microbiology / Protein kinase / Proteins / Research and Analysis Methods / Roots (Botany) / Scientific imaging / Secondary Metabolism / Solanum lycopersicum / Spores, Fungal / Transcription activation / Transcription factors / Verticillium - physiology / Verticillium wilt / Virulence / Xylem / Xylem - metabolism