RT Journal Article
T1 Row1, a member of a new family of conserved fungal proteins involved in infection, is required for appressoria functionality in Ustilago maydis
A1 Pejenaute Ochoa, María Dolores
A1 Tomás-Gallardo, Laura
A1 Ibeas, José
A1 Ramos Barrales, Ramón
K1 Appressoria
K1 Biotrophy
K1 Fungal cell wall
K1 Pathogenesis
K1 Secretion
K1 Ustilago maydis
AB The appressorium of phytopathogenic fungi is a specific structure with a crucial role in plant cuticle penetration. Pathogens with melanized appressoria break the cuticle through cell wall melanization and intracellular turgor pressure. However, in fungi with nonmelanized appressorium, the mechanisms governing cuticle penetration are poorly understood. Here we characterize Row1, a previously uncharacterized appressoria-specific protein of Ustilago maydis that localizes to membrane and secretory vesicles.Deletion of row1 decreases appressoria formation and plant penetration, thereby reducing virulence. Specifically, the Δrow1 mutant has a thicker cell wall that is more resistant to glucanase degradation. We also observed that the Δrow1 mutant has secretion defects.We show that Row1 is functionally conserved at least among Ustilaginaceae and belongs to the Row family, which consists of five other proteins that are highly conserved among Basidiomycota fungi and are involved in U. maydis virulence. We observed similarities in localization between Row1 and Row2, which is also involved in cell wall remodelling and secretion, suggesting similar molecular functions for members of this protein family.Our data suggest that Row1 could modify the chitin-glucan matrix of the fungal cell wall and may be involved in unconventional protein secretion, thereby promoting both appressoria maturation and penetration.
PB Wiley
YR 2024
FD 2024-08
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/21517
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/21517
LA en
NO Pejenaute-Ochoa MD, Tomás-Gallardo L, Ibeas JI, Barrales RR. Row1, a member of a new family of conserved fungal proteins involved in infection, is required for appressoria functionality in Ustilago maydis. New Phytol. 2024 Aug;243(3):1101-1122. doi: 10.1111/nph.19798
NO Proyectos de investigaciónBIO2016-80180-PPID2019- 110477GB-I00PID2022-142783NB-I00
NO Centro Andaluz de Biolog ıa del Desarrollo (CABD), Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC-Junta de Andalucia
DS RIO
RD May 8, 2026