scholarly journals A Mutant of the Bck1 Homolog from Cryphonectria parasitica Resulted in Sectorization with an Impaired Pathogenicity

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Mi Kim ◽  
Joong-Gi Lee ◽  
Suk-Hyun Yun ◽  
Kum-Kang So ◽  
Yo-Han Ko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Cryphonectria Parasitica ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Chestnut Blight Fungus ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Protein Kinase Kinase

CpBck1, an ortholog of the cell-wall integrity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was cloned and characterized from the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. The CpBck1-null mutant displayed cell wall integrity–related phenotypic changes such as abnormal cell morphology and wall formation and hypersensitivity to cell wall-disrupting agents. In addition, the mutant showed severely retarded growth without any sign of normal development, such as hyphal differentiation, conidiation, or pigmentation. As the culture proceeded, the mutant colony showed sporadic sectorization. Once sectored, the sectored phenotype of robust mycelial growth without differentiation was stably inherited. Compared with the wild type, both the parental CpBck1-null mutant and the sectored progeny exhibited marked impaired virulence. The present study revealed that a mutation in a signaling pathway component related to cell-wall integrity resulted in sporadic sectorization and these sectored phenotypes were stably inherited, suggesting that this signal transduction pathway is implicated in adaptive genetic changes for sectorization.

scholarly journals A Putative MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase, MCK1, Is Required for Cell Wall Integrity and Pathogenicity of the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junhyun Jeon ◽  
Jaeduk Goh ◽  
Sungyong Yoo ◽  
Myoung-Hwan Chi ◽  
Jaehyuk Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Magnaporthe Oryzae ◽  
Insertional Mutagenesis ◽  
Turgor Pressure ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Targeted Disruption ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Protein Kinase Kinase

Insertional mutagenesis of Magnaporthe oryzae led to the identification of MCK1, a pathogenicity gene predicted to encode mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) homologous to BCK1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Targeted disruption of MCK1 resulted in the fungus undergoing autolysis and showing hypersensitivity to cell-wall-degrading enzyme. The mck1 produced significantly reduced numbers of conidia and developed appressoria in a slightly retarded manner compared with the wild type. Appressorium of the mck1 mutant was unable to penetrate into plant tissues, thereby rendering the mutant nonpathogenic. Cytorrhysis assay and monitoring of lipid mobilization suggested that the appressorial wall was altered, presumably affecting the level of turgor pressure within appressorium. Furthermore, the mck1 mutant failed to grow inside plant tissue. Complementation of the mutated gene restored its ability to cause disease symptoms, demonstrating that MCK1 is required for fungal pathogenicity. Taken together, our results suggest that MCK1 is an MAPKKK involved in maintaining cell wall integrity of M. oryzae, and that remodeling of the cell wall in response to host environments is essential for fungal pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Mechanism of Mpk1 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Binding to the Swi4 Transcription Factor and Its Regulation by a Novel Caffeine-Induced Phosphorylation

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (24) ◽  
pp. 6449-6461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Truman ◽  
Ki-Young Kim ◽  
David E. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Activation Mechanism ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

ABSTRACT The Mpk1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the cell wall integrity signaling pathway uses a noncatalytic mechanism to activate the SBF (Swi4/Swi6) transcription factor. Active Mpk1 forms a complex with Swi4, the DNA-binding subunit of SBF, conferring the ability to bind DNA. Because SBF activation is independent of Mpk1 catalytic activity but requires Mpk1 to be in an active conformation, we sought to understand how Mpk1 interacts with Swi4. Mutational analysis revealed that binding and activation of Swi4 by Mpk1 requires an intact D-motif-binding site, a docking surface common to MAPKs that resides distal to the phosphorylation loop but does not require the substrate-binding site, revealing a novel mechanism for MAPK target regulation. Additionally, we found that Mpk1 binds near the autoinhibitory C terminus of Swi4, suggesting an activation mechanism in which Mpk1 substitutes for Swi6 in promoting Swi4 DNA binding. Finally, we show that caffeine is an atypical activator of cell wall integrity signaling, because it induces phosphorylation of the Mpk1 C-terminal extension at Ser423 and Ser428. These phosphorylations were dependent on the DNA damage checkpoint kinases, Mec1/Tel1 and Rad53. Phosphorylation of Ser423 specifically blocked SBF activation by preventing Mpk1 association with Swi4, revealing a novel mechanism for regulating MAPK target specificity.

scholarly journals The monothiol glutaredoxin Grx4 influences thermotolerance, cell wall integrity, and Mpk1 signaling in Cryptococcus neoformans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanggan Hu ◽  
Linda Horianopoulos ◽  
Eddy Sánchez-León ◽  
Mélissa Caza ◽  
Wonhee Jung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Stress Conditions ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Calcofluor White ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Increased Sensitivity

Abstract Monothiol glutaredoxins are important regulators of iron homeostasis that play conserved roles in the sensing and trafficking of iron-sulfur clusters. We previously characterized the role of the monothiol glutaredoxin Grx4 in iron homeostasis, the interaction with the iron regulator Cir1, and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans. This important fungal pathogen causes cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals worldwide. Here, we demonstrate that Grx4 is required for proliferation at elevated temperatures (both 37°C and 39°C) and under stress conditions. In particular, the grx4Δ mutant was hypersensitive to SDS, calcofluor white (CFW), and caffeine, suggesting that Grx4 is required for membrane and cell wall integrity (CWI). In this context, we found that Grx4 regulated the phosphorylation of the Mpk1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the CWI pathway in cells grown at elevated temperature or upon treatment with CFW, caffeine, or SDS. The grx4Δ mutant also displayed increased sensitivity to FK506 and cyclosporin A, two inhibitors of the calcineurin pathway, indicating that Grx4 may influence growth at higher temperatures in parallel with calcineurin signaling. Upon thermal stress or calcium treatment, loss of Grx4 also caused partial mis-localization of Crz1, the transcription factor that is a calcineurin substrate. The phenotypes of the grx4Δ, crz1Δ, and cna1Δ (calcineurin) mutants suggest shared contributions to the regulation of temperature, cell wall, and other stresses. In summary, we show that Grx4 is also a key regulator of the responses to a variety of stress conditions in addition to its roles in iron homeostasis in C. neoformans.

scholarly journals The MAPKKK CgMck1 Is Required for Cell Wall Integrity, Appressorium Development, and Pathogenicity in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Lan Fang ◽  
Li-Ming Xia ◽  
Ping Wang ◽  
Li-Hua Zhu ◽  
Jian-Ren Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Extracellular Signals ◽  
Mapk Cascades ◽  
Body Development ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway plays key roles in sensing extracellular signals and transmitting them from the cell membrane to the nucleus in response to various environmental stimuli. A MAPKKK protein CgMck1 in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was characterized. Phenotypic analyses of the ∆Cgmck1 mutant showed that the CgMck1 was required for vegetative growth, fruiting body development, and sporulation. Additionally, the CgMCK1 deletion mutant showed significant defects in cell wall integrity, and responses to osmotic stresses. The mutant abolished the ability to develop appressorium, and lost pathogenicity to host plants. The ∆Cgmck1 mutant also exhibited a higher sensitivity to antifungal bacterium agent Bacillus velezensis. The deletion mutants of downstream MAPK cascades components CgMkk1 and CgMps1 showed similar defects to the ∆Cgmck1 mutant. In conclusion, CgMck1 is involved in the regulation of vegetative growth, asexual development, cell wall integrity, stresses resistance, and infection morphogenesis in C. gloeosporioides.

scholarly journals Yeast Mpk1 Cell Wall Integrity Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Regulates Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of the Swi6 Transcriptional Regulator

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1609-1619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki-Young Kim ◽  
Andrew W. Truman ◽  
Stefanie Caesar ◽  
Gabriel Schlenstedt ◽  
David E. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Wall Stress ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling ◽  
Nuclear Entry ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein

The yeast SBF transcription factor is a heterodimer comprised of Swi4 and Swi6 that has a well defined role in cell cycle-specific transcription. SBF serves a second function in the transcriptional response to cell wall stress in which activated Mpk1 mitogen-activated protein kinase of the cell wall integrity signaling pathway forms a complex with Swi4, the DNA binding subunit of SBF, conferring upon Swi4 the ability to bind DNA and activate transcription of FKS2. Although Mpk1–Swi4 complex formation and transcriptional activation of FKS2 does not require Mpk1 catalytic activity, Swi6 is phosphorylated by Mpk1 and must be present in the Mpk1-Swi4 complex for transcriptional activation of FKS2. Here, we find that Mpk1 regulates Swi6 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in a biphasic manner. First, formation of the Mpk1-Swi4 complex recruits Swi6 to the nucleus for transcriptional activation. Second, Mpk1 negatively regulates Swi6 by phosphorylation on Ser238, which inhibits nuclear entry. Ser238 neighbors a nuclear localization signal (NLS) whose function is blocked by phosphorylation at Ser238 in a manner similar to the regulation by Cdc28 of another Swi6 NLS, revealing a mechanism for the integration of multiple signals to a single endpoint. Finally, the Kap120 β-importin binds the Mpk1-regulated Swi6 NLS but not the Cdc28-regulated NLS.

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