Disruption of the gene encoding endo-β-1, 4-xylanase affects the growth and virulence of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

• Main Authors: Yang Yu, Jifen Xiao, Jiao Du, Yuheng Yang, Chaowei Bi, Ling Qing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2016-11-01
• Series: Frontiers in Microbiology
• Subjects: Virulence; Gene Deletion; Carpogenic germination; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum; Sclerotia; endo-β-1 4-xylanase
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01787/full

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a devastating fungal pathogen with worldwide distribution. S. sclerotiorum is a necrotrophic fungus that secretes many cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) that destroy plant’s cell-wall components. Functional analyses of the genes that encode CWEDs will help explain the mechanisms of growth and pathogenicity of S. sclerotiorum. Here, we isolated and characterized a gene SsXyl1 that encoded an endo-β-1, 4-xylanase in S. sclerotiorum. The SsXyl1 expression showed a slight increase during the development and germination stages of sclerotia and a dramatic increase during infection. The expression of SsXyl1 was induced by xylan. The SsXyl1 deletion strains produce aberrant sclerotia that could not germinate to form apothecia. The SsXyl1 deletion strains also lost virulence to the hosts. This study demonstrates the important roles of endo-β-1, 4-xylanase in the growth and virulence of S. sclerotiorum.