A considerable number of fungal homologues of human apoptotic genes have been identified in recent years. Nevertheless, we are far from being able to connect the different pieces and construct a primary structure of the fungal apoptotic regulatory network. To get a better picture of the available fungal components, we generated an automatic search protocol that is based on protein sequences together with a domain-centred approach. We used this protocol to search all the available fungal databases for domains and homologues of human apoptotic proteins. Among all known apoptotic domains, only the BIR [baculovirus IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis protein) repeat] domain was found in fungi. A single protein with one or two BIR domains is present in most (but not all) fungal species. We isolated the BIR-containing protein from the grey mould fungus Botrytis cinerea and determined its role in apoptosis and pathogenicity. We also isolated and analysed BcNMA, a homologue of the yeast NMA11 gene. Partial knockout or overexpression strains of BcBIR1 confirmed that BcBir1 is anti-apoptotic and this activity was assigned to the N′-terminal part of the protein. Plant infection assays showed that the fungus undergoes massive PCD (programmed cell death) during early stages of infection. Further studies showed that fungal virulence was fully correlated with the ability of the fungus to cope with plant-induced PCD. Together, our result show that BcBir1 is a major regulator of PCD in B. cinerea and that proper regulation of the host-induced PCD is essential for pathogenesis in this and other similar fungal pathogens.
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Conference Article|
September 21 2011
Apoptosis-like programmed cell death in the grey mould fungus Botrytis cinerea: genes and their role in pathogenicity
Neta Shlezinger;
Neta Shlezinger
1Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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Adi Doron;
Adi Doron
1Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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Amir Sharon
Amir Sharon
1
1Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email amirsh@ex.tau.ac.il).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
June 19 2011
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2011 Biochemical Society
2011
Biochem Soc Trans (2011) 39 (5): 1493–1498.
Article history
Received:
June 19 2011
Citation
Neta Shlezinger, Adi Doron, Amir Sharon; Apoptosis-like programmed cell death in the grey mould fungus Botrytis cinerea: genes and their role in pathogenicity. Biochem Soc Trans 1 October 2011; 39 (5): 1493–1498. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0391493
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