scholarly journals Extending Chestnut Blight Hypovirus Host Range Within Diaporthales by Biolistic Delivery of Viral cDNA

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 780-789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuko Sasaki ◽  
Mari Onoue ◽  
Satoko Kanematsu ◽  
Kouich Suzaki ◽  
Masaki Miyanishi ◽  
...  

Biolistic bombardment was used to successfully transform three phytopathogenic fungal species with an infectious cDNA clone of the prototypic hypovirus, CHV1-EP713, a genetic element responsible for the virulence attenuation (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. The fungal species included two strains each of C. parasitica and Valsa ceratosperma, as well as one strain of Phomopsis G-type (teleomorph Diaporthe Nitschke); all are members of the order Diaporthales but classified into three different genera. A subset of transformants for each of the fungal species contained CHV1-EP713 dsRNA derived from chromosomally integrated viral cDNA. As has been reported for CHV1-EP713 infection of the natural host C. parasitica, biolistic introduction of CHV1-EP713 into the new fungal hosts V. ceratosperma and Phomopsis G-type resulted in altered colony morphology and, more importantly, reduced virulence. These results suggest a potential for hypoviruses as biological control agents in plant-infecting fungal pathogens other than the chestnut blight fungus and closely related species. In addition, the particle delivery technique offers a convenient means of transmitting hypoviruses to potential host fungi that provides new avenues for fundamental mycovirus research and may have practical applications for conferring hypovirulence directly on infected plants in the field.

2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 740-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Iqbal Faruk ◽  
Ana Eusebio-Cope ◽  
Nobuhiro Suzuki

ABSTRACT The prototype hypovirus CHV1-EP713 causes virulence attenuation and severe suppression of asexual sporulation and pigmentation in its host, the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. We identified a factor associated with symptom induction in C. parasitica using a transformation of C. parasitica strain EP155 with a full-length cDNA clone from a mild mutant virus strain, Cys(72). This was accomplished by using mutagenesis of the transformant fungal strain TCys(72)-1 by random integration of plasmid pHygR, conferring hygromycin resistance. The mutant, namA (after nami-gata, meaning wave shaped), showed an irregular fungal morphology with reduced conidiation and pigmentation while retaining similar levels of virulence and virus accumulation relative to TCys(72)-1- or Cys(72)-infected strain EP155. However, the colony morphology of virus-cured namA (VC-namA) was indistinguishable from those of EP155 and virus-cured TCys(72)-1 [VC-TCys(72)-1]. The phenotypic difference between VC-namA and VC-TCys(72)-1 was found only when these strains infected with the wild type or certain mutant CHV1-EP713 strains but not when infected with Mycoreovirus 1. Sequence analysis of inverse-PCR-amplified genomic DNA fragments and cDNA identified the insertion site of the mutagenic plasmid in exon 8 of the nam-1 gene. NAM-1, comprising 1,257 amino acids, shows sequence similarities to counterparts from other filamentous fungi and possesses the CorA domain that is conserved in a class of Mg2+ transporters from prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Complementation assays using the wild-type and mutant alleles and targeted disruption of nam-1 showed that nam-1 with an extension of the pHygR-derived sequence contributed to the altered phenotype in the namA mutant. The molecular mechanism underlying virus-specific fungal symptom modulation in VC-namA is discussed.


2011 ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
László Irinyi ◽  
Gábor Görcsös ◽  
László Radócz

Chryphonectria parasitica, the casual agent of chestnut blight, is one of the most important fungal pathogens of chestnut (Castanea spp.) in Europe and Hungary. In this study we analyzed the diversity of 14 Cryphonectria parasitica strains isolated from different location of Carpathian-Basin. For the analyses we used the partial sequences of the translation elongation coding gene, tef1. Our results showed that the tef1 gene, contrary to other fungal species, is not suitable for the molecular analyses of C. parasitica. In the future, for the molecular studies of C. parasitica, we need to use other molecular markers like microsatellites.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (13) ◽  
pp. 6369-6378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuyou Deng ◽  
Donald L. Nuss

ABSTRACT The prototypic hypovirus CHV1-EP713, responsible for virulence attenuation (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, encodes two papain-like proteases, p29 and p48. Protein p29 has been shown to be dispensable for hypovirus RNA replication and to act as a suppressor of RNA silencing. Here we describe a role for p48 in hypovirus RNA propagation. CHV1-EP713 infectious cDNA clones in which the p48 coding region was deleted, Δp48, were unable to establish infection in C. parasitica when introduced as a DNA form by transformation or as a coding strand transcript by electroporation. However, the Δp48 mutant virus RNA was rescued when p48 was provided in trans. Surprisingly, the Δp48 mutant viruses retained replication competence in the apparent absence of p48 following transmission to wild-type C. parasitica and successive subculturing. The replicating Δp48 mutant virus was reduced in RNA accumulation by 60% both in the absence and presence of p48 provided in trans and was transmitted through asexual spores (conidia) at a rate 3 to 8% of that for full-length CHV1-EP713. Complementary analysis of strains expressing p48 or containing the replicating Δp48 mutant virus showed that like p29, p48 contributes to virus-mediated suppression of host pigmentation and conidiation, although to a lesser extent, and is dispensable for hypovirus-mediated hypovirulence. The combined results suggest that papain-like protease p48 plays an essential role in the initiation but not the maintenance of virus RNA propagation and also contributes to the regulation of viral RNA accumulation and vertical transmission.


2001 ◽  
Vol 265 (4) ◽  
pp. 730-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Linder-Basso ◽  
R. Foglia ◽  
P. Zhu ◽  
B.I. Hillman

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth J. Diamond ◽  
Robert H. Giles ◽  
Roy L. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Gary J. Griffin

Abstract We estimated hard mast production of a Southern Appalachian forest for two 10 yr intervals: one before and one, 35 yr after, the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) (Murr.) Barr, had killed all mature chestnut trees. The basal area of hard mast-producing trees in the postblight forest was 28% less than in the preblight forest. The estimate of hard mast output was 34% less after the chestnut blight. Postblight production was less than preblight production for 8 of 10 yr. During 5 of these years, postblight production was only 5-27% of preblight production. Annual preblight mast production was relatively stable, whereas annual postblight production fluctuated substantially. Our findings suggest that the loss of mature chestnuts (Castanea dentata) markedly reduced the Southern Appalachian forest's carrying capacity for certain wildlife species. South. J. Appl. For 24(4):196-201.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 2613-2619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuemin Zhang ◽  
Gert C. Segers ◽  
Qihong Sun ◽  
Fuyou Deng ◽  
Donald L. Nuss

ABSTRACT The disruption of one of two dicer genes, dcl-2, of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica was recently shown to increase susceptibility to mycovirus infection (G. C. Segers, X. Zhang, F. Deng, Q. Sun, and D. L. Nuss, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104:12902-12906, 2007). We now report the accumulation of virus-derived small RNAs (vsRNAs) in hypovirus CHV1-EP713-infected wild-type and dicer gene dcl-1 mutant C. parasitica strains but not in hypovirus-infected dcl-2 mutant and dcl-1 dcl-2 double-mutant strains. The CHV1-EP713 vsRNAs were produced from both the positive and negative viral RNA strands at a ratio of 3:2 in a nonrandom distribution along the viral genome. We also show that C. parasitica responds to hypovirus and mycoreovirus infections with a significant increase (12- to 20-fold) in dcl-2 expression while the expression of dcl-1 is increased only modestly (2-fold). The expression of dcl-2 is further increased (∼35-fold) following infection with a hypovirus CHV1-EP713 mutant that lacks the p29 suppressor of RNA silencing. The combined results demonstrate the biogenesis of mycovirus-derived small RNAs in a fungal host through the action of a specific dicer gene, dcl-2. They also reveal that dcl-2 expression is significantly induced in response to mycovirus infection by a mechanism that appears to be repressed by the hypovirus-encoded p29 suppressor of RNA silencing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabitree Shahi ◽  
Ana Eusebio-Cope ◽  
Hideki Kondo ◽  
Bradley I. Hillman ◽  
Nobuhiro Suzuki

ABSTRACT Mitoviruses (genus Mitovirus, family Narnaviridae) are mitochondrially replicating viruses that have the simplest positive-sense RNA genomes of 2.2 to 4.4 kb with a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Cryphonectria parasitica mitovirus 1 (CpMV1) from U.S. strain NB631 of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, was the first virus identified as a mitochondrially replicating virus. Despite subsequent discovery of many other mitoviruses from diverse fungi, no great advances in understanding mitovirus biology have emerged, partly because of the lack of inoculation methods. Here we developed a protoplast fusion-based protocol for horizontal transmission of CpMV1 that entailed fusion of recipient and donor protoplasts, hyphal anastomosis, and single-conidium isolation. This method allowed expansion of the host range to many other C. parasitica strains. Species within and outside the family Cryphonectriaceae, Cryphonectria radicalis and Valsa ceratosperma, also supported the replication of CpMV1 at a level comparable to that in the natural host. No stable maintenance of CpMV1 was observed in Helminthosporium victoriae. PCR-based haplotyping of virus-infected fungal strains confirmed the recipient mitochondrial genetic background. Phenotypic comparison between CpMV1-free and -infected isogenic strains revealed no overt effects of the virus. Taking advantage of the infectivity to the standard strain C. parasitica EP155, accumulation levels were compared among antiviral RNA silencing-proficient and -deficient strains in the EP155 background. Comparable accumulation levels were observed among these strains, suggesting the avoidance of antiviral RNA silencing by CpMV1, which is consistent with its mitochondrial replication. Collectively, the results of study provide a foundation to further explore the biology of mitoviruses. IMPORTANCE Capsidless mitoviruses, which are ubiquitously detected in filamentous fungi, have the simplest RNA genomes of 2.2 to 4.4 kb, encoding only RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Despite their simple genomes, detailed biological characterization of mitoviruses has been hampered by their mitochondrial location within the cell, posing challenges to their experimental introduction and study. Here we developed a protoplast fusion-based protocol for horizontal transfer of the prototype mitovirus, Cryphonectria parasitica mitovirus 1 (CpMV1), which was isolated from strain NB631 of the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica), a model filamentous fungus for studying virus-host interactions. The host range of CpMV1 has been expanded to many different strains of C. parasitica and different fungal species within and outside the Cryphonectriaceae. Comparison of CpMV1 accumulation among various RNA silencing-deficient and -competent strains showed clearly that the virus was unaffected by RNA silencing. This study provides a solid foundation for further exploration of mitovirus-host interactions.


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