• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권7호
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• pp.1311-1319
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• 2016

Alternaria brassicicola (Schwein.) invades Brassicaceae and causes black spot disease, significantly lowering productivity. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and their upstream kinases, including MAPK kinases (MAPKKs) and MAPKK kinases (MAPKKK), comprise one of the most important signaling pathways determining the pathogenicity of diverse plant pathogens. The AbSte7 gene in the genome of A. brassicicola was predicted to be a homolog of yeast Ste7, a MAPKK; therefore, the function was characterized by generating null mutant strains with a gene replacement method. AbSte7 replacement mutants (RMs) had a slower growth rate and altered colony morphology compared with the wild-type strain. Disruption of the AbSte7 gene resulted in defects in conidiation and melanin accumulation. AbSte7 was also involved in the resistance pathways in salt and oxidative stress, working to negatively regulate salt tolerance and positively regulate oxidative stress. Pathogenicity assays revealed that AbSte7 RMs could not infect intact cabbage leaves, but only formed very small lesions in wounded leaves, whereas typical lesions appeared on both intact and wounded leaves inoculated with the wild-type strain. As the first studied MAPKK in A. brassicicola, these data strongly suggest that the AbSte7 gene is an essential element for the growth, development, and pathogenicity of A. brassicicola.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.216-225
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• 2020

An esterase gene, estA1, was cloned from Alteromonas sp. 39-G1 isolated from the Beaufort Sea. The gene is composed of 1,140 nucleotides and codes for a 41,190 Da protein containing 379 amino acids. As a result of a BLAST search, the protein sequence of esterase EstA1 was found to be identical to Alteromonas sp. esterase (GenBank: PHS53692). As far as we know, no research on this enzyme has yet been conducted. Phylogenetic analysis showed that esterase EstA1 was a member of the bacterial lipolytic enzyme family IV (hormone sensitive lipases). Two deletion mutants (Δ20 and Δ54) of the esterase EstA1 were produced in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells with part of the N-terminal of the protein removed and His-tag attached to the C-terminal. These enzymes exhibited the highest activity toward p-nitrophenyl (pNP) acetate (C₂) and had little or no activity towards pNP-esters with acyl chains longer than C₆. Their optimum temperature and pH of the catalytic activity were 45℃ and pH 8.0, respectively. As the NaCl concentration increased, their enzyme activities continued to increase and the highest enzyme activities were measured in 5 M NaCl. These enzymes were found to be stable for up to 8 h in the concentration of 3-5 M NaCl. Moreover, they have been found to be stable for various metal ions, detergents and organic solvents. These salt-tolerant and chemical-resistant properties suggest that the enzyme esterase EstA1 is both academically and industrially useful.

• Mycobiology
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• 제51권3호
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• pp.178-185
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• 2023

The cell wall integrity (CWI) signaling pathway plays important roles in the dissemination and infection of several plant pathogenic fungi. However, its roles in the pepper fruit anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum scovillei remain uninvestigated. In this study, the major components of the CWI signaling pathway-CsMCK1 (MAPKKK), CsMKK1 (MAPKK), and CsMPS1 (MAPK)-were functionally characterized in C. scovillei via homology-dependent gene replacement. The ΔCsmck1, DCsmkk1, and ΔCsmps1 mutants showed impairments in fungal growth, conidiation, and tolerance to CWI and salt stresses. Moreover, ΔCsmck1, ΔCsmkk1, and ΔCsmps1 failed to develop anthracnose disease on pepper fruits due to defects in appressorium formation and invasive hyphae growth. These results suggest that CsMCK1, CsMKK1, and CsMPS1 play important roles in mycelial growth, conidiation, appressorium formation, plant infection, and stress adaption of C. scovillei. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the roles of the CWI signaling pathway in the development of pepper fruit anthracnose disease.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.11-18
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• 2006

고염 스트레스에 대한 연구는 농업 생산성에 직결되기 때문에, 고염에 대한 식물의 반응 및 신호전달, 적응기작은 중요한 연구주제가 되어 왔다. 현재까지 연구된 고염 스트레스에 대한 저항성 기작 및 유전학적 요소들이 많이 밝혀졌는데도 불구하고 아직 많은 연구를 필요로 하고 있다. 그래서 본 연구에서는 모델식물로 잘 알려진 애기장대에 pSK1015 vector로 T-DNA를 삽입하여 고염 스트레스에 대해 감수성을 보이는 돌연변이체, ssm1 돌연변이체를 선별하였다. ssm1 돌연변이체는 고염 스트레스를 받게 되면 이온의 독성 스트레스와 세포내 삼투압의 불균형에서 오는 스트레스에 대해 대조군에 비해 감수성을 보였다. ssm1 돌연변이체의 genomic DNA 상의 T-DNA가 삽입된 부위를 찾기 위하여 genomic DNA mutant library screening을 수행한 결과, 기존의 알려진 syntaxin 기능 및 환경 스트레스에 관련된 F3M18/AtSYP61/OSM1 임을 알 수 있었다.