Ustilaginoidea virens: Insights into an Emerging Rice Pathogen

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenxian Sun ◽  
Jing Fan ◽  
Anfei Fang ◽  
Yuejiao Li ◽  
Muhammad Tariqjaveed ◽  
...  

False smut of rice, caused by Ustilaginoidea virens, has become one of the most important diseases in rice-growing regions worldwide. The disease causes a significant yield loss and imposes health threats to humans and animals by producing mycotoxins. In this review, we update our understanding of the pathogen, including the disease cycle and infection strategies, the decoding of the U. virens genome, comparative/functional genomics, and effector biology. Whereas the decoding of the U. virens genome unveils specific adaptations of the pathogen in successfully occupying rice flowers, progresses in comparative/functional genomics and effector biology have begun to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying U. virens virulence and pathogenicity. We highlight the identification and characterization of the produced mycotoxins and their biosynthetic pathways in U. virens.The management strategies for this disease are also discussed. The flower-specific infection strategy makes the pathogen a unique tool to unveil novel mechanisms for the interactions between nonobligate biotrophic pathogens and their hosts.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Azeez ◽  
Yiru Chen Zhao ◽  
Rajesh Kumar Singh ◽  
Yordan S. Yordanov ◽  
Madhumita Dash ◽  
...  

AbstractBud-break is an economically and environmentally important process in trees and shrubs from boreal and temperate latitudes, but its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that two previously reported transcription factors, EARLY BUD BREAK 1 (EBB1) and SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE-Like (SVL) directly interact to control bud-break. EBB1 is a positive regulator of bud-break, whereas SVL is a negative regulator of bud-break. EBB1 directly and negatively regulates SVL expression. We further report the identification and characterization of the EBB3 gene. EBB3 is a temperature-responsive, epigenetically-regulated, positive regulator of bud-break that provides a direct link to activation of the cell cycle during bud-break. EBB3 is an AP2/ERF transcription factor that positively and directly regulates CYCLIND3.1 gene. Our results reveal the architecture of a putative regulatory module that links temperature-mediated control of bud-break with activation of cell cycle.


Author(s):  
Francesca Anna Carrieri ◽  
Nick Connis ◽  
Eloise Grasset ◽  
Eddie Luidy-Imada ◽  
Andrew Ewald ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3376
Author(s):  
Songhong Wei ◽  
Yingling Wang ◽  
Jianming Zhou ◽  
Shibo Xiang ◽  
Wenxian Sun ◽  
...  

Ustilaginoidea virens, which causes rice false smut (RFS), is one of the most detrimental rice fungal diseases and poses a severe threat to rice production and quality. Effectors in U. virens often act as a group of essential virulence factors that play crucial roles in the interaction between host and the pathogen. Thus, the functions of individual effectors in U. virens need to be further explored. Here, we demonstrated a small secreted hypersensitive response-inducing protein (hrip), named UvHrip1, which was highly conserved in U. virens isolates. UvHrip1 was also proven to suppress necrosis-like defense symptoms in N. benthamiana induced by the oomycete elicitor INF1. The localization of UvHrip1 was mainly in the nuclei and cytoplasm via monitoring the UvHrip1-GFP fusion protein in rice cells. Furthermore, Y2H and BiFC assay demonstrated that UvHrip1 interacted with OsHGW, which is a critical regulator in heading date and grain weight signaling pathways in rice. Expression patterns of defense- and heading date-related genes, OsPR1#051 and OsMYB21, were down-regulated over U. virens infection in rice. Collectively, our data provide a theory for gaining an insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the UvHrip1 virulence function.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peihong Wang ◽  
Sai Wang ◽  
Yan Wu ◽  
Wenhan Nie ◽  
Ayizekeranmu Yiming ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe emerging role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in various biological processes have advanced our knowledge of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation. The number and expression of plant circRNAs vary with species and treatments. However, the expression profile and the potential role of circRNAs during plant response to pathogen invasion are still elusive. ResultsIn this study, we identified 3517 circRNAs from PXO99A-infected rice leaves using the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) depleted RNA-Sequencing technique coupled with the CIRI2 and CIRCexplorer2 pipeline. Among them, 2994 (85.13%) circRNAs arised from the exons of their parent genes, 1214 circRNAs were previously unknown and 276 circRNAs exhibited differential expression profiles upon PXO99A infection over time. In addition, 31 differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were predicted as the corresponding 121 miRNAs sponges. Functional analysis of both host genes and target mRNAs suggested that these identified circRNAs might play an important role in reprogramming rice responses to PXO99A invasion, mainly by mediating photorespiration, chloroplast, peroxisome and diterpenoid biosynthesis associated pathways.ConclusionThese results inferred a potential functional role of circRNAs in the regulation of rice immunity and provide novel clues for revealing the molecular mechanisms of rice-PXO99A interaction.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bharani Deepan ◽  
N. Tanuja ◽  
K. S. Kavanashree ◽  
A. Ramanathan

False smut of rice caused by Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke), increasing concern in majority of rice growing areas around the world as epidemics have been reported lately. The fungus completely converts the grains into spore balls, unfit for consumption and seed production. With the increase in disease, yield loss and disease severity is accentuating. The QTLs responsible for the false smut resistance to be identified and consistent inheritability of these QTLs have to be evaluated using marker assisted selection. Due to heavy application of nitrogenous fertilizers the disease aggravates, proper management strategies needed to be framed to control the false smut disease. Progress in achieving the resistance varieties and management of false smut needs more emphasis. This review summarizes the present status in the screening of resistant varieties and management of false smut in rice.


Author(s):  
Wang-Dui Basang ◽  
Tian-Wu An ◽  
Xiao-Lin Luo ◽  
Yan-Bin Zhu ◽  
Luo-Bu Danjiu Danjiu ◽  
...  

In this study, we used high-throughput technology to provide the first transcriptome dataset for differentially expressed miRNA in mixed pools of dermis tissue from black- and white-coated yak to research the possible molecular mechanisms of yak coat pigmentation. In this study, 92,636,002 and 95,917,842 clear reads were generated through Illumina paired-end sequencing. A total of 78 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified, including 59 upregulated and 19 downregulated miRNAs in the mixed pools of white-coated yak compared with the mixed pools of black-coated yak. In addition, 3634 genes were predicted as putative targets of DEMs. These DEGs related to 59 GO categories and were enriched in 216 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, including melanogenesis and the Wnt signaling pathway. The results of the current study indicated that the coat color of the yak involved the transcriptional regulation process of miRNAs. These results provide helpful data to understand the molecular mechanisms of yak coat pigmentation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. 663.3-664
Author(s):  
A. Krishnamurthy ◽  
V. Joshua ◽  
K. Amara ◽  
C. Cerqueira ◽  
K. Lundberg ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (9) ◽  
pp. 2612-2618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelley M. Hovis ◽  
John V. McDowell ◽  
LaToya Griffin ◽  
Richard T. Marconi

ABSTRACT In North America, tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is caused by the spirochete species Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia parkeri, and Borrelia turicatae. We previously demonstrated that some isolates of B. hermsii and B. parkeri are capable of binding factor H and that cell-bound factor H can participate in the factor I-mediated cleavage of C3b. Isolates that bound factor H expressed a factor H-binding protein (FHBP) that we estimated to be approximately 19 to 20 kDa in size and thus, pending further characterization, temporarily designated FHBP19. Until this report, none of the FHBPs of the TBRF spirochetes had been characterized. Here we have recovered the gene encoding the FHBP of B. hermsii YOR from a lambda ZAP II library and determined its sequence. The gene encodes a full-length protein of 22.7 kDa, which after processing is predicted to be 20.5 kDa. This protein, which we redesignate factor H-binding protein A (FhbA), is unique to B. hermsii. Two-dimensional pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and hybridization analyses revealed that the B. hermsii gene encoding FhbA is a single genetic locus that maps to a linear plasmid of approximately 220 kb. The general properties of FhbA were also assessed. The protein was found to be surface exposed and lipidated. Analysis of the antibody response to FhbA in infected mice revealed that it is antigenic during infection, indicating expression during infection. The identification and characterization of FhbA provides further insight into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of the relapsing fever spirochetes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Prabhakaran Soundararajan ◽  
So Youn Won ◽  
Jung Sun Kim

Rosaceae is one of the important families possessing a variety of diversified plant species. It includes many economically valuable crops that provide nutritional and health benefits for the human. Whole genome sequences of valuable crop plants were released in recent years. Understanding of genomics helps to decipher the plant physiology and developmental process. With the information of cultivating species and its wild relative genomes, genome sequence-based molecular markers and mapping loci for economically important traits can be used to accelerate the genome assisted breeding. Identification and characterization of disease resistant capacities and abiotic stress tolerance related genes are feasible to study across species with genome information. Further breeding studies based on the identification of gene loci for aesthetic values, flowering molecular circuit controls, fruit firmness, nonacid fruits, etc. is required for producing new cultivars with valuable traits. This review discusses the whole genome sequencing reports of Malus, Pyrus, Fragaria, Prunus, and Rosa and status of functional genomics of representative traits in individual crops.


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