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Identification of genes with changes in transcription levels caused by mutations in conidiation regulator genes REN1 and FoSTUA in Fusarium oxysporum

  • Fungal Diseases
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Abstract

Fusarium oxysporum produces three kinds of asexual spores, macroconidia, microconidia, and chlamydospores. We previously identified two genes, REN1 and FoSTUA, which encode different types of transcription regulators essential for conidiation in F. oxysporum. We also performed expressed sequence tag analysis during vegetative growth and conidiation and identified 496 genes specifically detected in the conidiation cDNA library. Here, we selected genes with expression levels affected by a mutation in REN1 or FoSTUA in F. oxysporum. The transcription levels of 496 conidiation library-specific genes were compared between the wild-type strain and the ΔREN1 mutant or the ΔFoSTUA mutant by cDNA dot–blot differential hybridization and real-time quantitative PCR analyses. We found 23 and 12 genes, which had transcription levels more than tenfold lower and higher, respectively, in the ΔREN1 mutant than in the wild type. This result suggested that the 23 were positively and 12 genes negatively regulated by Ren1. We also found three genes positively regulated by FoStuA: the transcription levels of these genes were more than tenfold lower in the ΔFoSTUA mutant. The Ren1-regulated genes included genes that were also upregulated specifically under conidiation conditions in the wild-type strain. These genes provide candidates for further studies directed at understanding fungal conidiogenesis and its molecular regulation.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Fumio Namiki, Hirofumi Yoshioka, Kazuhito Kawakita, and Noriyuki Doke for valuable suggestions; the Radioisotope Research Center, Nagoya University, for technical assistance. This work was supported by grants-in-aids from Japanese Society for Promotion of Sciences (Nos. 14656017, 15208005, and 16658019) (T.T.) and a Research Fellowship of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (Y.I.).

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  1. Toshiaki Ohara

    Present address: Sankyo Agro Co. Ltd, 894 Yasu, Yasumachi, Yasu-Gun, Shiga, 520-3442, Japan

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  1. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Yuichiro Iida, Toshiaki Ohara & Takashi Tsuge

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Iida, Y., Ohara, T. & Tsuge, T. Identification of genes with changes in transcription levels caused by mutations in conidiation regulator genes REN1 and FoSTUA in Fusarium oxysporum . J Gen Plant Pathol 73, 158–167 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-007-0002-3

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