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| Subject Categories: Cellular Metabolism | Plant Biology |
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| The EMBO Journal
(2003) 22, 225–235, doi:10.1093/emboj/cdg018 |
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| Trehalose synthesis and metabolism are required at different stages of plant infection by Magnaporthe grisea |
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| Andrew J. Foster2, Joanna M. Jenkinson1 and Nicholas J. Talbot1 |
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1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Laboratories, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK 2 Present address: The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK To whom correspondence should be addressed Nicholas J. Talbot, N.J.Talbot@exeter.ac.uk Received 27 May 2002; Revised 12 November 2002; Accepted 14 November 2002. |
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| Abstract |
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The relationship of trehalose metabolism to fungal virulence was explored in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. To determine the role of trehalose synthesis in pathogenesis, we identified and deleted TPS1, encoding trehalose-6-phosphate synthase. A  tps1 mutant failed to synthesize trehalose, sporulated poorly and was greatly attenuated in pathogenicity. Appressoria produced by tps1 did not develop full turgor or elaborate penetration hyphae efficiently. To determine the role of subsequent trehalose breakdown, we deleted NTH1, which encodes a neutral trehalase. Nth1 mutants infected plants normally, but showed attenuated pathogenicity due to a decreased ability to colonize plant tissue. A second trehalase was also identified, required both for growth on trehalose and mobilization of intracellular trehalose during infection-related development. TRE1 encodes a cell wall-localized enzyme with characteristics of both neutral and acidic trehalases, but is dispensable for pathogenicity. Our results indicate that trehalose synthesis, but not its subsequent breakdown, is required for primary plant infection by M.grisea, while trehalose degradation is important for efficient development of the fungus in plant tissue following initial infection. |
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| Keywords: Magnaporthe grisea, metabolism, trehalase, virulence |
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