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Identification and function of a polyketide synthase gene responsible for 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-melanin pigment biosynthesis in Ascochyta rabiei

Current Genetics volume 56, pages 349–360 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Ascochyta rabiei produces and accumulates one of the well-known fungal polyketides, 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-melanin pigment (DHN-melanin), in asexual and sexual fruiting bodies. Degenerate PCR primers were used to isolate an ArPKS1 of A. rabiei encoding a polypeptide with high similarity to polyketide synthase (PKS) involved in biosynthesis of DHN-melanin in other ascomycetous fungi. Site-directed mutagenesis of ArPKS1 in A. rabiei generated melanin-deficient pycnidial mutants but caused no significant reduction of pathogenicity to chickpea. Pycnidiospores in ArPKS1-mutant pycnidia showed higher sensitivity to UV light exposure compared to pycnidiospores in melanized pycnidia of the wild-type progenitor isolate. Integration of an orthologous PKS1 gene from Bipolaris oryzae into the genome of the mutants complemented the dysfunctional ArPKS1 gene. This study demonstrated that A. rabiei uses a DHN-melanin pathway for pigmentation of pycnidia and this molecule may protect pycnidiospores from UV irradiation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. T. Tsuge (Nagoya University, Japan) and Dr. J. Kihara (Shimane University, Japan) for providing pSH75 and pII99, and pUCPKS, respectively. We are grateful to Dr. M. Kodama (Tottori University, Japan) for providing PCR primers, T.L. Horton, L.J. Stone, and A.A. Sigler for technical assistance, Dr. A. Pastor (Michigan State University) for assistance with the cryotome, and Dr. Z. Abdo (University of Idaho), Dr. T. Takizawa (Washington State University), and Dr. M. Egusa (Tottori University) for help with statistical analyses.

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Author notes

  1. Hajime O. Akamatsu

    Present address: Biological Resources Division, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), 1-1 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8686, Japan

  2. Martin I. Chilvers

    Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-6430, USA

    Hajime O. Akamatsu, Martin I. Chilvers, Jane E. Stewart & Tobin L. Peever

Authors
  1. Hajime O. Akamatsu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hajime O. Akamatsu.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Brakhage.

Sequence data reported are available in GenBank database under the accession numbers GQ150544–GQ150552.

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Akamatsu, H.O., Chilvers, M.I., Stewart, J.E. et al. Identification and function of a polyketide synthase gene responsible for 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-melanin pigment biosynthesis in Ascochyta rabiei . Curr Genet 56, 349–360 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-010-0306-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-010-0306-2

Keywords

  • Co-transformation
  • Dothideomycetes
  • Environmental stress
  • Fungal pigment
  • Secondary metabolism