RT Journal Article
T1 N-glycosylation of the protein disulfide isomerase Pdi1 ensures full Ustilago maydis virulence
A1 Marín Menguiano, Miriam
A1 Moreno-Sánchez, Ismael
A1 Ramos Barrales, Ramón
A1 Fernandez Alvarez, Alfonso
A1 Ibeas, José
K1 Ustilago maydis
K1 Smut fungi
K1 Pathogenesis
K1 Pdi
AB Fungal pathogenesis depends on accurate secretion and location of virulence factors which drive host colonization. Protein glycosylation is a common posttranslational modification of cell wall components and other secreted factors, typically required for correct protein localization, secretion and function. Thus, the absence of glycosylation is associated with animal and plant pathogen avirulence. While the relevance of protein glycosylation for pathogenesis has been well established, the main glycoproteins responsible for the loss of virulence observed in glycosylation-defective fungi have not been identified. Here, we devise a proteomics approach to identify such proteins and use it to demonstrate a role for the highly conserved protein disulfide isomerase Pdi1 in virulence. We show that efficient Pdi1 N-glycosylation, which promotes folding into the correct protein conformation, is required for full pathogenic development of the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. Remarkably, the observed virulence defects are reminiscent of those seen in glycosylation-defective cells suggesting that the N-glycosylation of Pdi1 is necessary for the full secretion of virulence factors. All these observations, together with the fact that Pdi1 protein and RNA expression levels rise upon virulence program induction, suggest that Pdi1 glycosylation is important for normal pathogenic development in U. maydis. Our results provide new insights into the role of glycosylation in fungal pathogenesis.
PB PLOS
YR 2019
FD 2019-11-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26114
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26114
LA en
NO PLOS Pathogens, 15(11): e1007687
NO Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Junta de Andalucía, Ctra. Utrera km.1, Seville, Spain
DS RIO
RD May 22, 2026