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BACKGROUND: The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) drug transporter MgMfs1 of the wheat pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola (Fuckel) J Schroeter is a potent multidrug transporter with high capacity to transport strobilurin fungicides in vitro. The data presented in this paper indicate that, in addition to the predominant cause of strobilurin resistance, cytochrome b G143A subsititution, MgMfs1 can play a role in sensitivity of field strains of this pathogen to trifloxystrobin. RESULTS: In a major part of field strains of M. graminicola (collected in the Netherlands in 2004) containing the cytochrome b G143A substitution, the basal level of expression of MgMfs1 was elevated as compared with sensitive strains lacking the G143A substitution. Induction of MgMfs1 expression in wild-type isolates upon treatment with trifloxystrobin at sublethal concentrations proceeded rapidly. Furthermore, in disease control experiments on wheat seedlings, disruption mutants of MgMfs1 displayed an increased sensitivity to trifloxystrobin. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the drug transporter MgMfs1 is a determinant of strobilurin sensitivity of field strains of M. graminicola. (c) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry

As part of their defense strategy against fungal pathogens, plants secrete chitinases that degrade chitin, the major structural component of fungal cell walls. Some fungi are not sensitive to plant chitinases because they secrete chitin-binding effector proteins that protect their cell wall against these enzymes. However, it is not known how fungal pathogens that lack chitin-binding effectors overcome this plant defense barrier. Here, we investigated the ability of fungal tomato pathogens to cleave chitin-binding domain (CBD)-containing chitinases and its effect on fungal virulence. Four tomato CBD chitinases were produced in Pichia pastoris and were incubated with secreted proteins isolated from seven fungal tomato pathogens. Of these, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Verticillium dahliae, and Botrytis cinerea were able to cleave the extracellular tomato chitinases SlChi1 and SlChi13. Cleavage by F. oxysporum removed the CBD from the N-terminus, shown by mass spectrometry, and significantly reduced the chitinase and antifungal activity of both chitinases. Both secreted metalloprotease FoMep1 and serine protease FoSep1 were responsible for this cleavage. Double deletion mutants of FoMep1 and FoSep1 of F. oxysporum lacked chitinase cleavage activity on SlChi1 and SlChi13 and showed reduced virulence on tomato. These results demonstrate the importance of plant chitinase cleavage in fungal virulence.

SUMMARY As in many fungi, asexual reproduction of Mycosphaerella graminicola in planta is a complex process that requires proper differentiation of the infectious hyphae in the substomatal cavities of foliar tissue before pycnidia with conidia can be formed. In this study, we have investigated the role of the cAMP signalling pathway in development and pathogenicity of this pathogen by disruption of the genes encoding the catalytic (designated MgTpk2) and regulatory subunit (designated MgBcy1) of protein kinase A. The MgTpk2 and MgBcy1 mutants showed altered phenotypes in vitro when grown under different growth conditions. On potato dextrose agar (PDA), MgBcy1 mutants showed altered osmosensitivity and reduced melanization, whereas the MgTpk2 mutants showed accelerated melanization when compared with the M. graminicola IPO323 wild-type strain and ectopic transformants. MgTpk2 mutants also secreted a dark-brown pigment into yeast glucose broth medium. In germination and microconidiation assays, both mutants showed a germination pattern similar to that of the controls on water agar, whereas on PDA filamentous growth of MgTpk2 mutants was impaired. Pathogenicity assays showed that the MgTpk2 and MgBcy1 mutants were less virulent as they caused only limited chlorotic and necrotic symptoms at the tips of the inoculated leaves. Further analyses of the infection process showed that MgTpk2 and MgBcy1 mutants were able to germinate, penetrate and colonize mesophyll tissue, but were unable to produce the asexual fructifications, which was particularly due to inappropriate differentiation during the late stage of this morphogenesis-related process.

Erwinia amylovora is a necrogenic bacterium, causing the fire blight disease on many rosaceous plants. Triggering oxidative burst by E. amylovora is a key response by which host plants try to restrain pathogen spread. Electron transport chain (ETC) of chloroplasts is known as an inducible source of reactive oxygen species generation in various stresses. This research was performed to assess the role of this ETC in E. amylovora–host interaction using several inhibitors of this chain in susceptible and resistant apple and pear genotypes. All ETC inhibitors delayed appearance of disease necrosis, but the effects of methyl viologen, glutaraldehyde, and DCMU were more significant. In the absence of inhibitors, resistant genotypes showed an earlier and severe H2O2 generation and early suppression of redox dependent, psbA gene. The effects of inhibitors were corresponding to the redox potential of ETC inhibitory sites. In addition, delayed necrosis appearance was associated with the decreased disease severity and delayed H2O2 generation. These results provide evidences for the involvement of this ETC in host oxidative burst and suggest that chloroplast ETC has significant role in E. amylovora–host interaction.

Culture filtrates (CFs) of the fungal wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici were assayed for necrosis-inducing activity after infiltration in leaves of various wheat cultivars. Active fractions were partially purified and characterized. The necrosis-inducing factors in CFs are proteinaceous, heat stable and their necrosis-inducing activity is temperature and light dependent. The in planta activity of CFs was tested by a time series of proteinase K (PK) co-infiltrations, which was unable to affect activity 30min after CF infiltrations. This suggests that the necrosis inducing proteins (NIPs) are either absent from the apoplast and likely actively transported into mesophyll cells or protected from the protease by association with a receptor. Alternatively, plant cell death signaling pathways might be fully engaged during the first 30min and cannot be reversed even after PK treatment. Further fractionation of the CFs with the highest necrosis-inducing activity involved fast performance liquid chromatography, SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry. This revealed that most of the proteins present in the fractions have not been described before. The two most prominent ZtNIP encoding candidates were heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris and subsequent infiltration assays showed their differential activity in a range of wheat cultivars.

Leaf mold of tomato is caused by the biotrophic fungus Cladosporium fulvum which complies with the gene-for-gene system. The disease was first reported in Japan in the 1920s and has since been frequently observed. Initially only race 0 isolates were reported, but since the consecutive introduction of resistance genes Cf-2, Cf-4, Cf-5 and Cf-9 new races have evolved. Here we first determined the virulence spectrum of 133 C. fulvum isolates collected from 22 prefectures in Japan, and subsequently sequenced the avirulence (Avr) genes Avr2, Avr4, Avr4E, Avr5 and Avr9 to determine the molecular basis of overcoming Cf genes. Twelve races of C. fulvum with a different virulence spectrum were identified, of which races 9, 2.9, 4.9, 4.5.9 and 4.9.11 occur only in Japan. The Avr genes in many of these races contain unique mutations not observed in races identified elsewhere in the world including (i) frameshift mutations and (ii) transposon insertions in Avr2, (iii) point mutations in Avr4 and Avr4E, and (iv) deletions of Avr4E, Avr5 and Avr9. New races have developed by selection pressure imposed by consecutive introductions of Cf-2, Cf-4, Cf-5 and Cf-9 genes in commercially grown tomato cultivars. Our study shows that molecular variations to adapt to different Cf genes in an isolated C. fulvum population in Japan are novel but overall follow similar patterns as those observed in populations from other parts of the world. Implications for breeding of more durable C. fulvum resistant varieties are discussed.

Genetic manipulation of fungi requires quick, low-cost, efficient, high-throughput and molecular tools. In this paper, we report 22 entry constructs as new molecular tools based on the Gateway technology facilitating rapid construction of binary vectors that can be used for functional analysis of genes in fungi. The entry vectors for single, double or triple gene-deletion mutants were developed using hygromycin, geneticin and nourseothricin resistance genes as selection markers. Furthermore, entry vectors containing green fluorescent (GFP) or red fluorescent (RFP) in combination with hygromycin, geneticin or nourseothricin selection markers were generated. The latter vectors provide the possibility of gene deletion and simultaneous labelling of the fungal transformants with GFP or RFP reporter genes. The applicability of a number of entry vectors was validated in Zymoseptoria tritici, an important fungal wheat pathogen.

We sequenced and compared the genomes of the Dothideomycete fungal plant pathogens Cladosporium fulvum (Cfu) (syn. Passalora fulva) and Dothistroma septosporum (Dse) that are closely related phylogenetically, but have different lifestyles and hosts. Although both fungi grow extracellularly in close contact with host mesophyll cells, Cfu is a biotroph infecting tomato, while Dse is a hemibiotroph infecting pine. The genomes of these fungi have a similar set of genes (70% of gene content in both genomes are homologs), but differ significantly in size (Cfu >61.1-Mb; Dse 31.2-Mb), which is mainly due to the difference in repeat content (47.2% in Cfu versus 3.2% in Dse). Recent adaptation to different lifestyles and hosts is suggested by diverged sets of genes. Cfu contains an α-tomatinase gene that we predict might be required for detoxification of tomatine, while this gene is absent in Dse. Many genes encoding secreted proteins are unique to each species and the repeat-rich areas in Cfu are enriched for these species-specific genes. In contrast, conserved genes suggest common host ancestry. Homologs of Cfu effector genes, including Ecp2 and Avr4, are present in Dse and induce a Cf-Ecp2- and Cf-4-mediated hypersensitive response, respectively. Strikingly, genes involved in production of the toxin dothistromin, a likely virulence factor for Dse, are conserved in Cfu, but their expression differs markedly with essentially no expression by Cfu in planta. Likewise, Cfu has a carbohydrate-degrading enzyme catalog that is more similar to that of necrotrophs or hemibiotrophs and a larger pectinolytic gene arsenal than Dse, but many of these genes are not expressed in planta or are pseudogenized. Overall, comparison of their genomes suggests that these closely related plant pathogens had a common ancestral host but since adapted to different hosts and lifestyles by a combination of differentiated gene content, pseudogenization, and gene regulation., Author Summary We compared the genomes of two closely related pathogens with very different lifestyles and hosts: C. fulvum (Cfu), a biotroph of tomato, and D. septosporum (Dse), a hemibiotroph of pine. Some differences in gene content were identified that can be directly related to their different hosts, such as the presence of a gene involved in degradation of a tomato saponin only in Cfu. However, in general the two species share a surprisingly large proportion of genes. Dse has functional homologs of Cfu effector genes, while Cfu has genes for biosynthesis of dothistromin, a toxin probably associated with virulence in Dse. Cfu also has an unexpectedly large content of genes for biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites and degradation of plant cell walls compared to Dse, contrasting with its host preference and lifestyle. However, many of these genes were not expressed in planta or were pseudogenized. These results suggest that evolving species may retain genetic signatures of the host and lifestyle preferences of their ancestor and that evolution of new genes, gene regulation, and pseudogenization are important factors in adaptation.

The cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways are the most important signal transduction pathways in eukaryotes. In many plant pathogenic fungi they play pivotal roles in virulence and development. Identification and understanding the role of signal transduction pathways in regulation of cellular responses require robust biochemical techniques. Determination of both the phosphorylation status of MAPKs and the intracellular levels of cAMP is required to unravel the function of these pathways during adaptation of fungi to environmental stress conditions or when particular fungal genes are disrupted or silenced. Here we describe protocols to determine the phosphorylation status of three different MAPKs including Fus3, Slt2 and Hog1 as well as a protocol to measure the intracellular levels of cAMP levels. These protocols can be adapted for a wide range of fungi.

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis enables separation of fungal chromosomes up to several megabases and is a worthwhile tool for fungal karyotyping. The germ tube burst method is a technique to separate fungal chromosomes of any size for chromosome number determination as well as in situ hybridization. Here we provide detailed protocols for both complementary methods that have many applications in fungal biology including chromosome size and chromosome number polymorphisms, and in situ localization of genes on chromosomes.

Pulsed fi eld gel electrophoresis enables separation of fungal chromosomes up to several megabases and is a worthwhile tool for fungal karyotyping. The germ tube burst method is a technique to separate fungal chromosomes of any size for chromosome number determination as well as in situ hybridization. Here we provide detailed protocols for both complementary methods that have many applications in fungal biology including chromosome size and chromosome number polymorphisms, and in situ localization of genes on chromosomes

The cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways are the most important signal transduction pathways in eukaryotes. In many plant pathogenic fungi they play pivotal roles in virulence and development. Identifi cation and understanding the role of signal transduction pathways in regulation of cellular responses require robust biochemical techniques. Determination of both the phosphorylation status of MAPKs and the intracellular levels of cAMP is required to unravel the function of these pathways during adaptation of fungi to environmental stress conditions or when particular fungal genes are disrupted or silenced. Here we describe protocols to determine the phosphorylation status of three different MAPKs including Fus3, Slt2 and Hog1 as well as a protocol to measure the intracellular levels of cAMP levels. These protocols can be adapted for a wide range of fungi

Septoria tritici blotch, caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola, is currently the major foliar disease of wheat world-wide, and new sources of resistance and knowledge about the genetics of resistance are needed to improve breeding for resistance against this disease. An F10 recombinant inbred population from a cross between ‘Wangshuibai’ (Chinese landrace) and the susceptible cultivar ‘Seri82’ was tested at seedling stage under controlled greenhouse conditions. Two isolate-specific genes for resistance to Iranian M.graminicola isolates IPO08002 and IPO08003 were detected on Chromosomes 2BL and 7DS, respectively. For both genes the resistance was derived from ‘Wangshuibai’ at positions where Stb9 (on 2BL) and Stb4 (on 7DS) have been

We identified and functionally characterized genes encoding three Gα proteins and one Gβ protein in the dimorphic fungal wheat pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola , which we designated MgGpa1 , MgGpa2 , MgGpa3 , and MgGpb1 , respectively. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses showed that MgGPA1 and MgGPA3 are most related to the mammalian Gα i and Gα s families, respectively, whereas MgGPA2 is not related to either of these families. On potato dextrose agar (PDA) and in yeast glucose broth (YGB), MgGpa1 mutants produced significantly longer spores than those of the wild type (WT), and these developed into unique fluffy mycelia in the latter medium, indicating that this gene negatively controls filamentation. MgGpa3 mutants showed more pronounced yeast-like growth accompanied with hampered filamentation and secreted a dark-brown pigment into YGB. Germ tubes emerging from spores of MgGpb1 mutants were wavy on water agar and showed a nested type of growth on PDA that was due to hampered filamentation, numerous cell fusions, and increased anastomosis. Intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels of MgGpb1 and MgGpa3 mutants were decreased, indicating that both genes positively regulate the cAMP pathway, which was confirmed because the WT phenotype was restored by adding cAMP to these mutant cultures. The cAMP levels in MgGpa1 mutants and the WT were not significantly different, suggesting that this gene might be dispensable for cAMP regulation. In planta assays showed that mutants of MgGpa1 , MgGpa3 , and MgGpb1 are strongly reduced in pathogenicity. We concluded that the heterotrimeric G proteins encoded by MgGpa3 and MgGpb1 regulate the cAMP pathway that is required for development and pathogenicity in M. graminicola .

Fusarium head blight caused by Fusarium graminearum is an important disease of wheat and barley. In a previous study, we identified several mutants with reduced virulence by insertional mutagenesis. A transducin beta-like gene named FTL1 was disrupted in one of these nonpathogenic mutants. FTL1 is homologous to Saccharomyces cerevisiae SIF2 , which is a component of the Set3 complex involved in late stages of ascospore formation. The Δ ftl1 mutant was significantly reduced in conidiation and failed to cause typical disease symptoms. It failed to colonize the vascular tissues of rachis or cause necrosis on the rachis of inoculated wheat heads. The Δ ftl1 mutant also was defective in spreading from infected anthers to ovaries and more sensitive than the wild type to plant defensins MsDef1 and osmotin. However, the activation of two mitogen-activated protein kinases, Mgv1 and Gpmk1, production of deoxynivalenol, and expression of genes known to be important for plant infection in F. graminearum were not affected, indicating that the defect of the Δ ftl1 mutant in plant infection is unrelated to known virulence factors in this pathogen and may involve novel mechanisms. The Δ ftl1 deletion mutant was significantly reduced in histone deacetylation, and many members of the yeast Set3 complex are conserved in F. graminearum . FTL1 appears to be a component of this well-conserved protein complex that plays a critical role in the penetration and colonization of wheat tissues.

All eukaryotic organisms must be able to sense and respond to extracellular signals for regulating various developmental and differentiation processes. The cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways are among the best studied signal transduction pathways in eukaryotes. The key components of the cAMP-PKA pathway include the adenylate cyclase (AC) and regulatory and catalytic subunits of protein kinase A (PKA). In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both small GTPase Ras and trimeric G-protein Gpa2 Gα function upstream from the cAMP-PKA pathway. Adenylate cyclase is activated by Gα subunits in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa (Kays et al. 2000). Although there are no experimental data to determine whether AC is activated by Ras or heterotrimeric G-proteins in most ascomycetous fungal pathogens, phenotype analyses of related mutants and pharmacological studies often suggest the involvement of Ga in the cAMP-PKA pathway (Gronover et al. 2001; Liu and Dean 1997).

Magnaporthe grisea is a model fungus for studying fungus-plant interactions. Two mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase genes, PMK1 and MPS1 , have been implicated in regulating plant infection processes in M. grisea . However, transcription factors activated by these MAP kinases are not well studied. In this study we functionally characterized the MIG1 gene that encodes a MADS-box transcription factor homologous to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rlm1. In yeast two-hybrid assays, MIG1 interacts with MPS1 , suggesting that MIG1 may function downstream from the MPS1 pathway. The mig1 deletion mutant had a normal growth rate and formed melanized appressoria, but it was nonpathogenic and failed to infect rice leaves through wounds. Appressoria formed by the mig1 mutant developed penetration pegs and primary infectious hyphae, but further differentiation of the secondary infectious hyphae inside live plant cells was blocked. However, the mig1 mutant formed infectious hypha-like structures in heat-killed plant cells or cellophane membranes. In transformants expressing the MIG1 - GFP fusion, green fluorescent protein (GFP) signals were not detectable in vegetative hyphae and conidiophores. Mig1-GFP was localized to nuclei in conidia, appressoria, and infectious hyphae. Deletion of the MADS box had no effect on the expression and localization of the MIG1-GFP fusion but eliminated its ability to complement the mig1 mutant. These results suggest that MIG1 may be required for overcoming plant defense responses and the differentiation of secondary infectious hyphae in live plant cells. The MADS-box domain is essential for the function of MIG1 but dispensable for its nuclear localization, which may be associated with the activation of MIG1 by MPS1 during conidiation and plant infection.

The karyotypes of three isolates of Mycosphaerella graminicola, the septoria tritici blotch pathogen of wheat, were analyzed with both pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the cytological technique called germ tube burst method (GTBM). These analyses revealed a chromosome length polymorphism among these isolates. The estimated genome size was 31-40 Mb depending on the isolates, indicating 17-22% redundancy in the genome of the standard strain IP0323 because such differences do not affect development, pathogenicity and sexual reproduction of the other isolates. The chromosome numbers in the three isolates were 18-20 and the chromosome size was 0.3-6 Mb. These data show that M. graminicola has the highest chromosome number and the smallest autosomes (A chromosomes) in filamentous ascomycetes. Our data also confirmed a large (> or =6 Mb) chromosome that was assembled recently in the IPO323 genome sequence. GTBM analyses revealed the mitotic metaphase chromosomes, enabling chromosome quantification, which was fully congruent with the PFGE analyses. These data will be instrumental in the final assembly of the M. graminicola genome.

In eukaryotic cells, a family of serine/threonine protein kinases known as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (MAPKs) is involved in the transduction of a variety of extracellular signals and the regulation of different developmental processes. The MAPK is activated by dual phosphorylation of the TXY motif by MAPK kinase (MEK or MAPKK), which is activated in turn by MEK kinase (MEKK or MAPKKK). The sequential activation of the MAPK cascade eventually results in the activation of transcription factors and the expression of specific sets of genes in response to environmental stimuli. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, five MAPK pathways are known to regulate mating, invasive growth, cell wall integrity, hyperosmoregulation, and ascospore formation (50). In the past decade, MAPKs in various plant and human pathogenic fungi have been characterized. In this review, we will compare their functions in different fungal pathogens with a focus on infection-related morphogenesis and virulence.

Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is reported to inhibit biotrophic but benefit necrotrophic pathogens. Infection by necrotrophs can result in a massive accumulation of H(2)O(2) in hosts. Little is known of how pathogens with both growth types are affected (hemibiotrophs). The hemibiotroph, Septoria tritici, infecting wheat (Triticum aestivum) is inhibited by H(2)O(2) during the biotrophic phase, but a large H(2)O(2) accumulation occurs in the host during reproduction. Here, we infiltrated catalase, H(2)O(2) or water into wheat during the biotrophic or the necrotrophic phase of S. tritici and studied the effect of infection on host physiology to get an understanding of the survival strategy of the pathogen. H(2)O(2) removal by catalase at both early and late stages made plants more susceptible, whereas H(2)O(2) made them more resistant. H(2)O(2) is harmful to S. tritici throughout its life cycle, but it can be tolerated. The late accumulation of H(2)O(2) is unlikely to result from down-regulation of photosynthesis, but probably originates from damage to the peroxisomes during the general tissue collapse, which is accompanied by release of soluble sugars in a susceptible cultivar.

The dimorphic ascomycete pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola switches from a yeastlike form to an infectious filamentous form that penetrates the host foliage through stomata. We examined the biological function of the mitogen-activated protein kinase-encoding gene MgHog1 in M. graminicola. Interestingly, MgHog1 mutants were unable to switch to filamentous growth on water agar that mimics the nutritionally poor conditions on the foliar surface and, hence, exclusively developed by a yeastlike budding process. Consequently, due to impaired initiation of infectious germ tubes, as revealed by detailed in planta cytological analyses, the MgHog1 mutants failed to infect wheat leaves. We, therefore, conclude that MgHog1 is a new pathogenicity factor involved in the regulation of dimorphism in M. graminicola. Furthermore, MgHog1 mutants are osmosensitive, resistant to phenylpyrrole and dicarboximide fungicides, and do not melanize.

SUMMARY In eukaryotes, a family of serine/threonine protein kinases known as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is involved in the transduction of a variety of extracellular signals and in the regulation of growth and development. We identified a MAPK-encoding gene in Mycosphaerella graminicola strain IPO323 with high homology to the orthologous Fus3 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and designated it MgFus3. Early colony development of the MgFus3 mutants during in vitro growth was similar to those of the wild-type and ectopic controls, but at the later stages of growth MgFus3 mutants did not become melanized, showed altered polarized growth and were unable to produce aerial mycelia. The MgFus3 mutants were non-pathogenic, and detailed microscopic analyses revealed that they failed to colonize the mesophyll tissue owing to the inability to penetrate stomata. Unlike the wild-type strain, MgFus3 mutants were unable to differentiate pycnidia on plant-derived media. Thus, in addition to the crucial role of MgFus3 in the regulation of penetration, it may also be involved in regulating asexual fructification. Hence, MgFus3 can be regarded as a multifunctional pathogenicity factor of M. graminicola.

Background Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara halstedii is a devastating disease in sunflower worldwide. Several dominant resistance genes designated as Pl have been identified and linked molecular markers have been demonstrated. However, no information on theresistance genes is available forIranian lines. Objectives The presence of three map-based molecular markers previously proved to be linked to different resistance genes were evaluated in sunflower inbred lines. Materials and methods Using PCR-based and CAPS molecular markers, 26 sunflower inbred lines with different responses to P. halstedii race 100 were used to detect the presence of three resistance loci including Pl1 , Pl6 and Pl13 within the lines. Results Molecular marker linked to Pl13 was present in some of the sunflower lines but was not correlated with the phenotypic reaction of the lines to race 100. Despite the use of three markers linked to Pl6 , PCR failed to amplify any corresponding product. This data may suggest that none of the genotypes possessed Pl6 locus. Pl1 -linked cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) were present in several resistance lines and effectively differentiated susceptible and resistant sunflower lines. Conclusions Applicability of molecular markers in breeding programs revisited in disease management.

Pathogens cause disease on both animal and plant hosts. For successful infection and establishment of disease, pathogens need proper weaponry to protect themselves against host defenses and to promote host colonization to facilitate uptake of nutrients for growth and reproduction. Indeed, plant pathogens secrete various types of effector molecules (proteins and secondary metabolites) to manipulate host responses for their own needs. Secreted proteases and protease inhibitors (PIs) are such effector molecules. Proteases can hydrolyze plant defense proteins and PIs can inhibit plant proteases that are part of the host surveillance system. Despite the importance of proteases and PIs secreted by fungal pathogens, little information about their role in virulence is available. The recent advances in genomics, bioinformatics, transcriptomics and proteomics have facilitated identification and functional analysis of proteases and PIs relevant to plant-fungus interactions. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the thesis outlining the general concept of plant-microbe interactions. It briefly describes the current knowledge of pathogenicity mechanisms employed by fungal plant pathogens and defense mechanisms employed by their host plants. It further introduces proteases and PIs and their potential role in modifying pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins to facilitate fungal virulence. It completes with an outline of the PhD research project. In chapter 2, we analyzed and compared the number of putatively secreted proteases present in the genomes of 30 fungi with different lifestyles. The analysis showed that fungi with a saprotrophic and hemibiotrophic lifestyle contain more secreted protease genes than biotrophs. Surprisingly, the number of protease genes present in the genome of Cladosporium fulvum, a biotrophic tomato pathogen, is comparable with that of hemibiotrophs and saprotrophs. We analyzed all C. fulvum protease genes both at the transcriptome and proteome level by means of RNA-Seq/RT-qrtPCR and mass spectrometry analyses, respectively. Results showed that many proteases of C. fulvum are not expressed during growth in planta, likely sustaining the biotrophic growth pattern of this fungus. In chapter 3, using an alignment-based gene prediction tool, we identified pseudogenes containing disruptive mutations (DMs) that likely lead to the production of nonfunctional proteins, including a group of putatively secreted proteases from C. fulvum. Fewer DMs were observed in other fungi including Dothistroma septosporum, a hemibiotrophic pine needle pathogen and close relative of C. fulvum, and suggested that the difference in pseudogenization of proteases between these two pathogens might in part explain their different lifestyle. In chapter 4, we analyzed the tomato genome and identified 30 candidate chitinases genes, of which six encoded chitin binding domain (CBD)-containing chitinases. Transcriptome and proteome data were collected after inoculation of tomato with several fungal pathogens and allowed the identification of two CBD-chitinases (SlChi2 and SlChi13) with a putative role in protecting tomato against C. fulvum and F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (F. oxysporum), respectively. Purified CBD-chitinases SlChi1, SlChi2, SlChi4 and SlChi13 were incubated with secreted protein extracts (SPEs) from seven fungal tomato pathogens and we could show that SPEs from F. oxysporum, Verticillium dahliae, and Botrytis cinerea modified SlChi1 and SlChi13. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that incubation with SPE from F. oxysporum removed the N-terminal 37 and 49 amino acids, comprising part and complete CBD domain from SlChi1 and SlChi13, respectively. Removal of the CBD of SlChi1 and SlChi13 by SPE of F. oxysporum reduced the antifungal activity of the two chitinases. We identified a fungal metalloprotease (FoMep1) and a subtilisin serine protease (FoSep1) that synergistically cleaved both SlChi1 and SlChi13. Transgenic F. oxysporum in which the genes encoding these two proteases were knocked out by homologous recombination lost the ability to cleave the two chitinases and were compromised in virulence on tomato compared to the parental wild type. These results suggest an important role of the two chitinases in defense of tomato against this pathogen. In chapter 5, we searched for host target(s) of the apoplastic effector Avr9 secreted by C. fulvum during infection of tomato. Based on the structural homology of Avr9 with carboxy peptidase inhibitors, we hypothesized that the host target of Avr9 might be apoplastic proteases. To isolate and identify Avr9 targets in apoplastic fluids, we used synthetic biotinylated Avr9, and performed pull-down and far-western blotting assays with apoplastic fluids from tomato inoculated with a C. fulvum race lacking the Avr9 gene. However, we found no specific Avr9-interacting proteins from pull-down complexes analyzed by mass spectrometry or by far-western blotting. Then, we hypothesized that glycosylation of Avr9 might be required for its biological function. The results of mass spectrometry analysis revealed that Avr9 is N-glycosylated when secreted by C. fulvum, containing at least two GlcNac and six mannose residues. The necrosis-inducing activity of glycosylated and non-glycosylated Avr9 was assayed but appeared not significantly different; however, we could not produce sufficient amounts of (biotinylated)-glycosylated Avr9 to perform pull-down assays for identification of potential glycosylated Arv9-interacting proteins by mass spectrometry. Previous studies as well as the results present in this PhD thesis showed that fungal pathogens secrete a plethora of effectors including proteases and PIs. Many of identified proteases and PIs mediate effector-triggered immunity in host plants. In chapter 6, we reviewed the recent advances on the various roles of proteases and PIs in compromising basal defense responses induced by microbe-associated molecular patterns. Chapter 7 is a summarizing discussion of the PhD thesis. We showed determinative roles of proteases and PIs in shaping plant-pathogen interactions. The expression and pseudogenization studies on proteases of C. fulvum showed that the genome content does not necessarily reflect the lifestyle of this fungus. This is true for many classes of fungal genes, including proteases. Fungi contain many different types of proteases whose functions may partly overlap. This hampers the discovery of their biological functions. We could demonstrate that two different types of proteases (metalloprotease (FoMep1) and subtilisin serine protease (FoSep1)) of F. oxysporum act synergistically to modify and reduce antifungal activity of two plant CBD-chitinases. Identifying additional proteases is achievable by a targeted proteomics approach using known targets as we did in chapter 4. However, identification of biological functions of proteases is a technical challenge when targets are not known. Multi-gene targeting of protease and PI genes is required to reveal their function in plant-pathogen interactions, which can only be addressed by using advanced genetic tools in future research.