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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #322994
Title: VdCYC8, encoding CYC8 glucose repression mediator protein, is required for microsclerotia formation and full virulence in Verticillium dahliae

Author
item LI, ZHI-FANG - Cotton Research Institute - China
item LIU, YI-JIE - Cotton Research Institute - China
item FENG, ZI-LI - Cotton Research Institute - China
item FENG, HONG-JIE - Cotton Research Institute - China
item Klosterman, Steven
item ZHOU, FANG-FANG - Cotton Research Institute - China
item ZHAO, LI-HONG - Cotton Research Institute - China
item SHI, YONG-QIANG - Cotton Research Institute - China
item ZHU, HE-QIN - Cotton Research Institute - China

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2015
Publication Date: 12/3/2015
Citation: Li, Z., Liu, Y., Feng, Z., Feng, H., Klosterman, S.J., Zhou, F., Zhao, L., Shi, Y., Zhu, H. 2015. VdCYC8, encoding CYC8 glucose repression mediator protein, is required for microsclerotia formation and full virulence in Verticillium dahliae. PLoS One. 10(12):e0144020. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144020.

Interpretive Summary: The fungus Verticillium dahliae causes plant diseases known commonly as Verticillium wilts, on over 200 plant species, some of which are economically important crops in the U.S. and abroad. The long-term survival of this fungus in the soil often means that rotating to non-host crops or other plants does not curtail Verticillium wilt disease development in subsequent crops. The long-term survival structure formed by V. dahliae is known as a microsclerotium. To better understand the process of microsclerotia formation in this fungus, this study analyzed a gene in more depth that was clearly identified as having a role in this process. The study confirms the important role of this gene, CYC8, in the process of microsclerotia formation in V. dahliae. Targeting CYC8 and other genes with roles in microsclerotia formation in V. dahliae may yield potential control targets alternative to costly soil fumigation strategies currently employed to control this pathogen in strawberry and vegetable production systems.

Technical Abstract: Verticillium dahliae is the primary causal agent for Verticillium wilt disease on a diverse array of economically important crops, including cotton. In previous research, we screened a T-DNA insertional mutant library of the highly virulent isolate Vd080 derived from cotton. In this study, the target disrupted gene VdCYC8 was identified by TAIL-PCR, encoding a homolog of CYC8 proteins involved in glucose repression. The deletion mutant 'CYC8 exhibited several developmental deficiencies, including reduced microsclerotia formation, reduced sporulation, and slower growth. Moreover, compared with the wild type strain Vd080, the pathogenicity of strain 'CYC8 was significantly decreased on cotton seedlings. However, mutant complementation of 'CYC8 led to restoration of the wild type phenotype or near wild type levels of virulence on cotton. Gene expression analyses in the wild type strain Vd080, the 'CYC8-45 strain, and complemented strain 'CYC8-C26 indicated that VdCYC8 regulates the transcription levels of several genes in V. dahliae that have roles in melanin and production.