Genetic and chemical intervention in ROS signaling pathways affecting development and pathogenicity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

The long-term goals of our research are to understand the regulation of sclerotial development and pathogenicity in S. sclerotior. The focus in this project was on the elucidation of the signaling events and environmental cues involved in the regulation of these processes, utilizing and continuously developing tools our research groups have established and/or adapted for analysis of S. sclerotiorum, Our stated objectives: To take advantage of the recent conceptual (ROS/PPs signaling) and technical (amenability of S. sclerotiorumto manipulations coupled with chemical genomics and next generation sequencing) developments to address and extend our fundamental and potentially applicable knowledge of the following questions concerning the involvement of REDOX signaling and protein dephosphorylation in the regulation of hyphal/sclerotial development and pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum: (i) How do defects in genes involved in ROS signaling affect S. sclerotiorumdevelopment and pathogenicity? (ii) In what manner do phosphotyrosinephosphatases affect S. sclerotiorumdevelopment and pathogenicity and how are they linked with ROS and other signaling pathways? And (iii) What is the nature of activity of newly identified compounds that affect S. sclerotiori,111 growth? What are the fungal targets and do they interfere with ROS signaling? We have met a significant portion of the specific goals set in our research project. Much of our work has been published. Briefly. we can summarize that: (a) Silencing of SsNox1(NADPHoxidase) expression indicated a central role for this enzyme in both virulence and pathogenic development, while inactivation of the SsNox2 gene resulted in limited sclerotial development, but the organism remained fully pathogenic. (b) A catalase gene (Scatl), whose expression was highly induced during host infection is involved in hyphal growth, branching, sclerotia formation and infection. (c) Protein tyrosine phosphatase l (ptpl) is required for sclerotial development and is involved in fungal infection. (d) Deletion of a superoxidedismutase gene (Sssodl) significantly reduced in virulence on both tomato and tobacco plants yet pathogenicity was mostly restored following supplementation with oxalate. (e) We have participated in comparative genome sequence analysis of S. sclerotiorumand B. cinerea. (f) S. sclerotiorumexhibits a potential switch between biotrophic and necrotrophic lifestyles (g) During plant­ microbe interactions cell death can occur in both resistant and susceptible events. Non­ pathogenic fungal mutants S. sclerotior111n also cause a cell death but with opposing results. We investigated PCD in more detail and showed that, although PCD occurs in both circumstances they exhibit distinctly different features. The mutants trigger a restricted cell death phenotype in the host that unexpectedly exhibits markers associated with the plant hypersensitive (resistant) response. Using electron and fluorescence microscopy, chemical effectors and reverse genetics, we have established that this restricted cell death is autophagic. Inhibition of autophagy rescued the non-pathogenic mutant phenotype. These findings indicate that autophagy is a defense response in this interaction Thus the control of cell death, dictated by the plant (autophagy) סr the fungus (apoptosis), is decisive to the outcome of certain plant­ microbe interactions. In addition to the time and efforts invested towards reaching the specific goals mentioned, both Pls have initiated utilizing (as stated as an objective in our proposal) state of the art RNA-seq tools in order to harness this technology for the study of S. sclerotiorum. The Pls have met twice (in Israel and in the US), in order to discuss .נחd coordinate the research efforts. This included a working visit at the US Pls laboratory for performing RNA-seq experiments and data analysis as well as working on a joint publication (now published). The work we have performed expands our understanding of the fundamental biology (developmental and pathogenic) of S. sclerotioז111וז. Furthermore, based on our results we have now reached the conclusion that this fungus is not a bona fide necrotroph, but can also display a biotrophic lifestyle at the early phases of infection. The data obtained can eventually serve .נ basis of rational intervention with the disease cycle of this pathogen.