Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.


Science 28 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5773, pp. 580 - 583
DOI: 10.1126/science.1124550

Reports

Autophagic Fungal Cell Death Is Necessary for Infection by the Rice Blast Fungus

Claire Veneault-Fourrey, Madhumita Barooah, Martin Egan, Gavin Wakley, Nicholas J. Talbot*

Rice blast is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea, which elaborates specialized infection cells called appressoria to penetrate the tough outer cuticle of the rice plant Oryza sativa. We found that the formation of an appressorium required, sequentially, the completion of mitosis, nuclear migration, and death of the conidium (fungal spore) from which the infection originated. Genetic intervention during mitosis prevented both appressorium development and conidium death. Impairment of autophagy, by the targeted mutation of the MgATG8 gene, arrested conidial cell death but rendered the fungus nonpathogenic. Thus, the initiation of rice blast requires autophagic cell death of the conidium.

School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Laboratories, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: N.J.Talbot{at}exeter.ac.uk

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Genome-wide functional analysis reveals that infection-associated fungal autophagy is necessary for rice blast disease.
M. J. Kershaw and N. J. Talbot (2009)
PNAS 106, 15967-15972
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Atg26-Mediated Pexophagy Is Required for Host Invasion by the Plant Pathogenic Fungus Colletotrichum orbiculare.
M. Asakura, S. Ninomiya, M. Sugimoto, M. Oku, S.-i. Yamashita, T. Okuno, Y. Sakai, and Y. Takano (2009)
PLANT CELL 21, 1291-1304
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Pexophagy in Fungal Pathogenesis.
G. Bertoni (2009)
PLANT CELL 21, 1030
   Full Text »    PDF »
The Crucial Role of the Pls1 Tetraspanin during Ascospore Germination in Podospora anserina Provides an Example of the Convergent Evolution of Morphogenetic Processes in Fungal Plant Pathogens and Saprobes.
K. Lambou, F. Malagnac, C. Barbisan, D. Tharreau, M.-H. Lebrun, and P. Silar (2008)
Eukaryot. Cell 7, 1809-1818
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
MADS-Box Transcription Factor Mig1 Is Required for Infectious Growth in Magnaporthe grisea.
R. Mehrabi, S. Ding, and J.-R. Xu (2008)
Eukaryot. Cell 7, 791-799
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Unexpected Link between Metal Ion Deficiency and Autophagy in Aspergillus fumigatus.
D. L. Richie, K. K. Fuller, J. Fortwendel, M. D. Miley, J. W. McCarthy, M. Feldmesser, J. C. Rhodes, and D. S. Askew (2007)
Eukaryot. Cell 6, 2437-2447
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Generation of reactive oxygen species by fungal NADPH oxidases is required for rice blast disease.
M. J. Egan, Z.-Y. Wang, M. A. Jones, N. Smirnoff, and N. J. Talbot (2007)
PNAS 104, 11772-11777
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Involvement of a Magnaporthe grisea Serine/Threonine Kinase Gene, MgATG1, in Appressorium Turgor and Pathogenesis.
X.-H. Liu, J.-P. Lu, L. Zhang, B. Dong, H. Min, and F.-C. Lin (2007)
Eukaryot. Cell 6, 997-1005
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Multidrug Resistance Transporter in Magnaporthe Is Required for Host Penetration and for Survival during Oxidative Stress.
C. B. Sun, A. Suresh, Y. Z. Deng, and N. I. Naqvi (2006)
PLANT CELL 18, 3686-3705
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Multiple Upstream Signals Converge on the Adaptor Protein Mst50 in Magnaporthe grisea.
G. Park, C. Xue, X. Zhao, Y. Kim, M. Orbach, and J.-R. Xu (2006)
PLANT CELL 18, 2822-2835
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Biz1, a Zinc Finger Protein Required for Plant Invasion by Ustilago maydis, Regulates the Levels of a Mitotic Cyclin.
I. Flor-Parra, M. Vranes, J. Kamper, and J. Perez-Martin (2006)
PLANT CELL 18, 2369-2387
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »



To Advertise     Find Products


Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)