Sex pheromone receptor Ste2 orchestrates chemotropic growth towards pine root extracts in the pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum

dc.contributor.authorRamaswe, J.B.
dc.contributor.authorSteenkamp, Emma Theodora
dc.contributor.authorDe Vos, Lieschen
dc.contributor.authorFru, Felix Fon
dc.contributor.authorAdegeye, O.O.
dc.contributor.authorWingfield, Brenda D.
dc.contributor.emailemma.steenkamp@fabi.up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-09T04:22:10Z
dc.date.available2025-04-09T04:22:10Z
dc.date.issued2024-05
dc.descriptionDATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Materials, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.en_US
dc.descriptionThis article belongs to the special issue titled 'Fungal Pathogens of Crops'.en_US
dc.descriptionSUPPORTING INFORMATION: FIGURE S1: Split marker methodology used for the disruption of the ste2 pheromone receptor gene in the wild-type genome of F. circinatum. FIGURE S2: Overview of the chemotropic assay used in this study. FIGURE S3: Chemotropic index values obtained for F. circinatum strains in the presence of untreated horse radish peroxidase (HRP) and when the enzyme was inactivated using L-ascorbate (HRP+Asc). TABLE S1: Primers used in this study. TABLE S2: PCR annealing temperatures for PCRs with the respective primer pairs used.en_US
dc.description.abstractIn ascomycetous fungi, sexual mate recognition requires interaction of the Ste2 receptor protein produced by one partner with the α-factor peptide pheromone produced by the other partner. In some fungi, Ste2 is further needed for chemotropism towards plant roots to allow for subsequent infection and colonization. Here, we investigated whether this is also true for the pine pitch canker fungus, Fusarium circinatum, which is a devastating pathogen of pine globally. Ste2 knockout mutants were generated for two opposite mating-type isolates, after which all strains were subjected to chemotropism assays involving exudates from pine seedling roots and synthetic α-factor pheromone, as well as a range of other compounds for comparison. Our data show that Ste2 is not required for chemotropism towards any of these other compounds, but, in both wild-type strains, Ste2 deletion resulted in the loss of chemotropism towards pine root exudate. Also, irrespective of mating type, both wild-type strains displayed positive chemotropism towards α-factor pheromone, which was substantially reduced in the deletion mutants and not the complementation mutants. Taken together, these findings suggest that Ste2 likely has a key role during the infection of pine roots in production nurseries. Our study also provides a strong foundation for exploring the role of self-produced and mate-produced α-factor pheromone in the growth and overall biology of the pitch canker pathogen.en_US
dc.description.departmentBiochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology (BGM)en_US
dc.description.departmentForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-02:Zero Hungeren_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-15:Life on landen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Department of Science, and Innovation (DSI) and National Research Foundation (NRF).en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogensen_US
dc.identifier.citationRamaswe, J.B.; Steenkamp, E.T.; De Vos, L.; Fru, F.F.; Adegeye, O.O.; Wingfield, B.D. Sex Pheromone Receptor Ste2 Orchestrates Chemotropic Growth towards Pine Root Extracts in the Pitch Canker Pathogen Fusarium circinatum. Pathogens 2024, 13, 425. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13050425.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2076-0817 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.3390/pathogens13050425
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/101928
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.rights© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an Open Access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).en_US
dc.subjectChemotropismen_US
dc.subjectSplit-marker constructsen_US
dc.subjectG protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)en_US
dc.subjectPeptide pheromoneen_US
dc.subjectHeterothallismen_US
dc.subjectAutocrine signalingen_US
dc.subjectParacrine signalingen_US
dc.subjectSDG-02: Zero hungeren_US
dc.subjectSDG-15: Life on landen_US
dc.titleSex pheromone receptor Ste2 orchestrates chemotropic growth towards pine root extracts in the pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatumen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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