Open AccessThe Botrytis cinerea Reg1 Protein, a Putative Transcriptional Regulator, Is Required for Pathogenicity, Conidiogenesis, and the Production of Secondary Metabolites
Author(s) -
Caroline B. Michielse,
Matthias Becker,
Jens Heller,
Javier Moraga,
Isidro G. Collado,
Paul Tudzynski
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
molecular plant-microbe interactions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.565
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1943-7706
pISSN - 0894-0282
DOI - 10.1094/mpmi-01-11-0007
Subject(s) - botrytis cinerea , biology , regulator , complementation , conidiation , mutant , transcriptional regulation , response regulator , regulator gene , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , regulation of gene expression , gene expression , genetics , botany
Botrytis cinerea, which causes gray-mold rot, attacks a wide range of plant species. To understand the infection process, the role of a putative transcriptional regulator, BcReg1 (regulator 1), in pathogenicity was studied. This transcriptional regulator shows similarity to the morphological switch regulators Candida albicans Wor1 and Histoplasma capsulatum Ryp1. Gene knock-out and complementation studies revealed that bcreg1 is required for pathogenicity. The bcreg1 mutant is able to penetrate plant tissue but is not able to cause necrotic lesions. In addition, the mutant is blocked in conidia formation and does not produce detectable levels of the sesquiterpene botrydial and the polyketide botcinic acid. Based on transcript expression levels, it can be concluded that bcreg1 is a downstream target of two mitogen-activated protein kinases, BcSak1 and Bmp3.