An Amidase Contributes to Full Virulence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Sep 23;23(19):11207. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911207.
Wei Li  1  2  3  4 ,  Junxing Lu  4 ,  Chenghuizi Yang  1 ,  Kate Arildsen  2 ,  Xin Li  2  3 ,  Shitou Xia  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Phytohormones and Growth Development, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
  • 2. Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
  • 3. Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
  • 4. College of Life Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China.
PMID: 36232508 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911207
Abstract

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is one of the most notorious and ubiquitous soilborne plant pathogens, causing serious economic losses to a large number of hosts worldwide. Although virulence factors have been identified in this filamentous fungus, including various cell-wall-degrading Enzymes, toxins, oxalic acids and effectors, our understanding of its virulence strategies is far from complete. To explore novel factors contributing to disease, a new pipeline combining forward genetic screening and next-generation Sequencing was utilized in this study. Analysis of a hypovirulent mutant revealed that a mutation in an amidase-encoding gene, Sscle_10g079050, resulted in reduced virulence. This is a first report on the contribution of an amidase to Fungal virulence, likely through affecting oxalic acid homeostasis.

Keywords
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum; amidase; oxalic acid; virulence.
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