Open AccessThe putrescine analogue (E)‐1,4‐diaminobut‐2‐ene reduces DNA methylation in the plant pathogenic fungus Pyrenophora avenae
Author(s) -
Walters Dale R
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1997.tb12646.x
Subject(s) - dna methylation , methylation , biology , fungus , putrescine , dna , pathogenic fungus , fungicide , gene , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , botany , enzyme
The synthetic putrescine analogue (E)‐1,4‐diaminobut‐2‐ene is known to possess antifungal and fungicidal properties. Although it perturbs fungal polyamine metabolism, this is not thought to be its primary mode of action. This paper reports that (E)‐1,4‐diaminobut‐2‐ene reduces DNA methylation in the plant pathogenic fungus Pyrenophora avenae . These reductions in DNA methylation were accompanied by greatly reduced methionine uptake by the fungus, although it is not known whether this was responsible for the altered DNA methylation. Reduced DNA methylation may result in the expression of specific genes, although which genes are affected and whether such changes are linked to reduced fungal growth awaits further investigation.