Adaptation to pH and role of PacC in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

PLoS One. 2013 Jul 16;8(7):e69236. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069236. Print 2013.

Abstract

Fungi are known to adapt to pH partly via specific activation of the Pal signaling pathway and subsequent gene regulation through the transcription factor PacC. The role of PacC in pathogenic fungi has been explored in few species, and each time its partaking in virulence has been found. We studied the impact of pH and the role of PacC in the biology of the rice pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Conidia formation and germination were affected by pH whereas fungal growth and appressorium formation were not. Growth in vitro and in planta was characterized by alkalinization and ammonia accumulation in the surrounding medium. Expression of the MoPACC gene increased when the fungus was placed under alkaline conditions. Except for MoPALF, expression of the MoPAL genes encoding the pH-signaling components was not influenced by pH. Deletion of PACC caused a progressive loss in growth rate from pH 5 to pH 8, a loss in conidia production at pH 8 in vitro, a loss in regulation of the MoPALF gene, a decreased production of secreted lytic enzymes and a partial loss in virulence towards barley and rice. PacC therefore plays a significant role in M. oryzae's biology, and pH is revealed as one component at work during interaction between the fungus and its host plants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Fungal Proteins / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / physiology
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Magnaporthe / metabolism*
  • Magnaporthe / pathogenicity*
  • Oryza / microbiology*
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the CNRS, the University Lyon 1 and Bayer CropScience. P. Landraud was supported by a grant from the French ministry of Industry and Bayer CropScience. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.