Author(s) |
Kumar, A.; Scher, K.; Mukherjee, M.; PardovitzKedmi, E.; Sible, G. V.; Singh, U. S.; Kale, S. P.; Mukherjee, P. K.; Horwitz, B. A. |
We have studied the functions of the Trichoderma virens TmkB, a homologue of the yeast cell-wall integrity MAP kinase Slt2, using gene knockout. The functions of TmkB were compared to those of the pathogenicity MAP kinase homologue (TmkA). Like the
tmkA loss-of-function mutants, tmkB mutants exhibited reduced radial growth and constitutive conidiation in dark as well as in liquid shake cultures. The
tmkB mutants, in contrast to tmkA mutants, had cell-wall integrity defects, as shown by autolysis of the mycelia and increased sensitivity to cell-wall degrading enzymes. Interestingly, the
tmkB mutants were not autolytic on the synthetic Vogels minimal medium. The
tmkB mutants had attenuated ability to overgrow the plant pathogen
Sclerotium rolfsii, while retaining the ability to overgrow
Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium spp., a phenotype also exhibited by the
tmkA mutants. This first functional analysis of a cell-wall integrity MAPK in
Trichoderma spp., a group of economically important fungi, shows the importance of this signaling pathway in biocontrol. Common phenotypes of the TmkA and TmkB pathways suggest that the two MAPKs may share some substrates, perhaps subunits of key transcription factors, thus dependent on two phosphorylation events for their activity. |