This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Klose, J.
Right arrow Articles by Kronstad, J. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Klose, J.
Right arrow Articles by Kronstad, J. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, December 2006, p. 2047-2061, Vol. 5, No. 12
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00231-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Multifunctional ß-Oxidation Enzyme Is Required for Full Symptom Development by the Biotrophic Maize Pathogen Ustilago maydis{triangledown}

Jana Klose and James W. Kronstad*

The Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada

Received 17 July 2006/ Accepted 14 September 2006

The transition from yeast-like to filamentous growth in the biotrophic fungal phytopathogen Ustilago maydis is a crucial event for pathogenesis. Previously, we showed that fatty acids induce filamentation in U. maydis and that the resulting hyphal cells resemble the infectious filaments observed in planta. To explore the potential metabolic role of lipids in the morphological transition and in pathogenic development in host tissue, we deleted the mfe2 gene encoding the multifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the second and third reactions in ß-oxidation of fatty acids in peroxisomes. The growth of the strains defective in mfe2 was attenuated on long-chain fatty acids and abolished on very-long-chain fatty acids. The mfe2 gene was not generally required for the production of filaments during mating in vitro, but loss of the gene blocked extensive proliferation of fungal filaments in planta. Consistent with this observation, mfe2 mutants exhibited significantly reduced virulence in that only 27% of infected seedlings produced tumors compared to 88% tumor production upon infection by wild-type strains. Similarly, a defect in virulence was observed in developing ears upon infection of mature maize plants. Specifically, the absence of the mfe2 gene delayed the development of teliospores within mature tumor tissue. Overall, these results indicate that the ability to utilize host lipids contributes to the pathogenic development of U. maydis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Michael Smith Laboratories, The University of British Columbia, #301-2185 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. Phone: (604) 822-4732. Fax: (604) 822-2114. E-mail: kronstad{at}msl.ubc.ca.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 22 September 2006.

Eukaryotic Cell, December 2006, p. 2047-2061, Vol. 5, No. 12
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00231-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»