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The velvet complex governs mycotoxin production and virulence of F usarium oxysporum on plant and mammalian hosts
Author(s) -
LópezBerges Manuel S.,
Hera Concepción,
Sulyok Michael,
Schäfer Katja,
Capilla Javier,
Guarro Josep,
Di Pietro Antonio
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.12082
Subject(s) - biology , conidiation , virulence , mycotoxin , velvet , fusarium oxysporum , microbiology and biotechnology , beauvericin , secondary metabolism , botany , gene , genetics , biosynthesis , chemistry , organic chemistry
Summary Fungal pathogens provoke devastating losses in agricultural production, contaminate food with mycotoxins and give rise to life‐threatening infections in humans. The soil‐borne ascomycete F usarium oxysporum attacks over 100 different crops and can cause systemic fusariosis in immunocompromised individuals. Here we functionally characterized VeA , VelB , VelC and LaeA , four components of the velvet protein complex which regulates fungal development and secondary metabolism. Deletion of veA , velB and to a minor extent velC caused a derepression of conidiation as well as alterations in the shape and size of microconidia. VeA and LaeA were required for full virulence of F . oxysporum on tomato plants and on immunodepressed mice. A critical contribution of velvet consists in promoting chromatin accessibility and expression of the biosynthetic gene cluster for beauvericin, a depsipeptide mycotoxin that functions as a virulence determinant. These results reveal a conserved role of the velvet complex during fungal infection on plants and mammals.

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