TY - JOUR
T1 - The cereal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum produces a new class of active cytokinins during infection
AU - Sørensen, Jens Laurids
AU - Benfield, Aurelie H.
AU - Wollenberg, Rasmus Dam
AU - Westphal, Klaus
AU - Wimmer, Reinhard
AU - Nielsen, Mikkel Rank
AU - Nielsen, Kristian Fog
AU - Carere, Jason
AU - Covarelli, Lorenzo
AU - Beccari, Giovanni
AU - Powell, Jonathan
AU - Yamashino, Takafumi
AU - Kogler, Herbert
AU - Sondergaard, Teis Esben
AU - Gardiner, Donald Max
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The fungal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum causes important diseases of wheat and barley. During a survey of secondary metabolites produced by this fungus, a novel class of cytokinins, herein termed Fusarium cytokinins, was discovered. Cytokinins are known for their growth promoting and anti-senescence activities and the production of a cytokinin mimic by what was once considered a necrotrophic pathogen that promotes cell death and senescence challenges the simple view that this pathogen invades its hosts by employing a barrage of lytic enzymes and toxins. Through genome mining, a gene cluster in the F. pseudograminearum genome for the production of Fusarium cytokinins was identified and the biosynthetic pathway established using gene knockouts. The Fusarium cytokinins could activate plant cytokinin signalling, demonstrating their genuine hormone mimicry. In planta analysis of the transcriptional response to one Fusarium cytokinin suggests extensive reprogramming of the host environment by these molecules, possibly through crosstalk with defence hormone signalling pathways.
AB - The fungal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum causes important diseases of wheat and barley. During a survey of secondary metabolites produced by this fungus, a novel class of cytokinins, herein termed Fusarium cytokinins, was discovered. Cytokinins are known for their growth promoting and anti-senescence activities and the production of a cytokinin mimic by what was once considered a necrotrophic pathogen that promotes cell death and senescence challenges the simple view that this pathogen invades its hosts by employing a barrage of lytic enzymes and toxins. Through genome mining, a gene cluster in the F. pseudograminearum genome for the production of Fusarium cytokinins was identified and the biosynthetic pathway established using gene knockouts. The Fusarium cytokinins could activate plant cytokinin signalling, demonstrating their genuine hormone mimicry. In planta analysis of the transcriptional response to one Fusarium cytokinin suggests extensive reprogramming of the host environment by these molecules, possibly through crosstalk with defence hormone signalling pathways.
KW - Fusarium
KW - Fusarium crown rot
KW - Fusarium graminearum
KW - Fusarium pseudograminearum
KW - Cytokinin
KW - Phytohormones
KW - Secondary metabolites
U2 - 10.1111/mpp.12593
DO - 10.1111/mpp.12593
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28802024
SN - 1464-6722
VL - 19
SP - 1140
EP - 1154
JO - Molecular Plant Pathology
JF - Molecular Plant Pathology
IS - 5
ER -