The cereal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum produces a new class of active cytokinins during infection

Summary The fungal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum causes important diseases of wheat and barley. During a survey of secondary metabolites produced by this fungus, a novel class of cytokinins, herein termed Fusarium cytokinins, was discovered. Cytokinins are known for their growth‐promoting and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular plant pathology 2018-05, Vol.19 (5), p.1140-1154
Main Authors: Sørensen, Jens Laurids, Benfield, Aurelie H., Wollenberg, Rasmus Dam, Westphal, Klaus, Wimmer, Reinhard, Nielsen, Mikkel Rank, Nielsen, Kristian Fog, Carere, Jason, Covarelli, Lorenzo, Beccari, Giovanni, Powell, Jonathan, Yamashino, Takafumi, Kogler, Herbert, Sondergaard, Teis Esben, Gardiner, Donald Max
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barley
biochemical pathways
Cell death
Crosstalk
cytokinin
Cytokinins
enzymes
Fungi
Fusarium
Fusarium crown rot
Fusarium graminearum
Fusarium pseudograminearum
genome mining
Genomes
hosts
Lytic enzymes
Metabolites
Mimicry
multigene family
Original
Pathogens
phytohormones
Secondary metabolites
Senescence
Signal transduction
Signaling
surveys
Toxins
Transcription
transcription (genetics)
Wheat
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Summary:Summary The fungal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum causes important diseases of wheat and barley. During a survey of secondary metabolites produced by this fungus, a novel class of cytokinins, herein termed Fusarium cytokinins, was discovered. Cytokinins are known for their growth‐promoting and anti‐senescence activities, and the production of a cytokinin mimic by what was once considered as a necrotrophic pathogen that promotes cell death and senescence challenges the simple view that this pathogen invades its hosts by employing a barrage of lytic enzymes and toxins. Through genome mining, a gene cluster in the F. pseudograminearum genome for the production of Fusarium cytokinins was identified and the biosynthetic pathway was established using gene knockouts. The Fusarium cytokinins could activate plant cytokinin signalling, demonstrating their genuine hormone mimicry. In planta analysis of the transcriptional response to one Fusarium cytokinin suggests extensive reprogramming of the host environment by these molecules, possibly through crosstalk with defence hormone signalling pathways.
ISSN:1464-6722
1364-3703
DOI:10.1111/mpp.12593