• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2011

The fungal genus Cercospora is one of the most ubiquitous groups of plant pathogenic fungi, and gray leaf spot caused by C. zeae-maydis is one of the most widespread and damaging foliar diseases of maize in the world. While light has been implicated as a critical environmental regulator of pathogenesis in C. zeae-maydis, the relationship between light and the development of disease is not fully understood. Recent discoveries have provided new insights into how light influences pathogenesis and morphogenesis in C. zeae-maydis, particularly at the molecular level. This review is focused on integrating old and new information to provide an updated perspective of how light influences pathogenesis, and provides a working model to explain some of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Ultimately, a thorough molecular-level understanding of how light regulates pathogenesis will augment efforts to manage gray leaf spot by improving host resistance and disease management strategies.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.136-150
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• 2014

Although multiple transcription factors (TFs) have been characterized via mutagenesis to understand their roles in controlling pathogenicity and infection-related development in Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast, if and how forkhead-box (FOX) TFs contribute to these processes remain to be characterized. Four putative FOX TF genes were identified in the genome of M. oryzae, and phylogenetic analysis suggested that two of them (MoFKH1 and MoHCM1) correspond to Ascomycota-specific members of the FOX TF family while the others (MoFOX1 and MoFOX2) are Pezizomycotina-specific members. Deletion of MoFKH1 (${\Delta}Mofkh1$) resulted in reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination, abnormal septation and stress response, and reduced virulence. Similarly, ${\Delta}Mohcm1$ exhibited reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination. Conidia of ${\Delta}Mofkh1$ and ${\Delta}Mohcm1$ were more sensitive to one or both of the cell cycle inhibitors hydroxyurea and benomyl, suggesting their role in cell cycle control. On the other hand, loss of MoFOX1 (${\Delta}Mofox1$) did not show any noticeable changes in development, pathogenicity, and stress response. Deletion of MoFOX2 was not successful even after repeated attempts. Taken together, these results suggested that MoFKH1 and MoHCM1 are important in fungal development and that MoFKH1 is further implicated in pathogenicity and stress response in M. oryzae.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2014

Acetylation of histone lysine residues occurs in different organisms ranging from yeast to plants and mammals for the regulation of diverse cellular processes. With the identification of enzymes that create or reverse this modification, our understanding on histone acetylation has expanded at an amazing pace during the last two decades. In fungal pathogens of plants, however, the importance of such modification has only just begun to be appreciated in the recent years and there is a dearth of information on how histone acetylation is implicated in fungal pathogenesis. This review covers the current status of research related to histone acetylation in plant pathogenic fungi and considers relevant findings in the interaction between fungal pathogens and host plants. We first describe the families of histone acetyltransferases and deacetylases. Then we provide the cases where histone acetylation was investigated in the context of fungal pathogenesis. Finally, future directions and perspectives in epigenetics of fungal pathogenesis are discussed.

• Mycobiology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 2001

Plants have the ability to acquire an enhanced level of resistance to pathogen attack after being exposed to specific biotic stimuli. To obtain plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria inducing resistance against cucumber anthracnose by Colletotrichum orbiculare, more than 800 strains of rhizobacteria were screened in the greenhouse. Among these strains, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens solate EXTN-1 showed significant disease control efficacy on the plants. Induction of pathogenesis-related(PR-la) gene expression by EXTN-1 was assessed using tobacco plants transformed with PR-1a::$\beta$-glucuronidase(GUS) construct. GUS activities of tobacco treated with EXTN-1 and salicylic acid-treated transgenic tobacco were significantly higher than those of tobacco plants with other treatments. Gene expression analyses indicated that EXTN-1 induces the accumulation of defense-related genes of tobacco. The results showed that some defense genes are expressed by the treatment with EXTN-1 suggesting the similar resistance mechanism by salicylic acid.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.16-19
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2020.11a
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• pp.153-153
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• 2020

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.240-244
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• 2020

Alternaria alternata JS-1623 is an endophytic fungus isolated from a stem tissue of Korean fir, Abies koreana. Ethyl acetate extracts of culture filtrates exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in LPS induced microglia BV-2 cell without cytotoxicity. Here we report a 33.67 Mb sized genome assembly of JS-1623 comprised of 13 scaffolds with N50 of 4.96 Mb, and 92.41% of BUSCO completeness. GC contents were 50.97%. Of the 11,197 genes annotated, gene families related to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites or transcription factors were identified.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.552-562
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• 2016

Pathogenesis-related proteins play multiple roles in plant development and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we characterize a rice defense related gene named "jasmonic acid inducible pathogenesis-related class 10" (JIOsPR10) to gain an insight into its functional properties. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed up-regulation of JIOsPR10 under salt and drought stress conditions. Constitutive over-expression JIOsPR10 in rice promoted shoot and root development in transgenic plants, however, their productivity was unaltered. Further experiments exhibited that the transgenic plants showed reduced susceptibility to rice blast fungus, and enhanced salt and drought stress tolerance as compared to the wild type. A comparative proteomic profiling of wild type and transgenic plants showed that overexpression of JIOsPR10 led to the differential modulation of several proteins mainly related with oxidative stresses, carbohydrate metabolism, and plant defense. Taken together, our findings suggest that JIOsPR10 plays important roles in biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance probably by activation of stress related proteins.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.108-111
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• 2009

DNA-based studies, including cloning and genotyping, have become routine in fungal research laboratories. However, preparation of high-quality DNA from fungal tissue requires much time and labor and is often a limiting step for high-throughput experiments. We have developed a quick and safe (QS) DNA extraction method for fungi. Time efficiency and safety in the QS method were achieved by using plate-grown mycelia as the starting material, by eliminating phenol-chloroform extraction procedures, and by deploying a simple electric grinder. This QS method is applicable not only to a broad range of microbial eukaryotes, including true fungi and oomycetes, but also to lichens and plants.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.281-292
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• 2016

Plants can recognize and respond in various ways to diverse environmental stresses, including pathogenic microorganisms, salt, drought, and low temperature. Salicylic acid (SA) is one phytohormone that plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. Nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) was originally identified as a core protein that could function as a transcriptional co-regulator and SA receptor during systemic acquired resistance (SAR), a plant immune response that could activate PR genes after pre-exposure of a pathogen. Although the function of NPR1 in plant defense response and the role of SA hormone in the regulation of plant physiological processes have been well characterized, the biological role of NPR1 in plant abiotic stress responses is largely unknown. In this review, we will summarize and discuss the current understanding of NPR1 function in response to plant environmental stresses.