Yoshitaka Takano

Microbial pathogens strategically acquire metabolites from their hosts during infection. Here we show that the host can intervene to prevent such metabolite loss to pathogens. Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of sugar transport protein 13 (STP13) is required for antibacterial defense in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana STP13 physically associates with the flagellin receptor flagellin-sensitive 2 (FLS2) and its co-receptor BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1-associated receptor kinase 1 (BAK1). BAK1

The infection process of Colletotrichum lagenarium, the causal agent of cucumber anthracnose disease, involves several key steps: germination; formation of melanized appressoria; appressorial penetration; and subsequent invasive growth in host plants. Here we report that the C. lagenarium CMK1 gene encoding a mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase plays a central role in these infection steps. CMK1 can complement appressorium formation of the Pmk1 MAP kinase mutant of Magnaporthe grisea. Deletio

Plant pathogens have optimized their own effector sets to adapt to their hosts. However, certain effectors, regarded as core effectors, are conserved among various pathogens, and may therefore play an important and common role in pathogen virulence. We report here that the widely distributed fungal effector NIS1 targets host immune components that transmit signaling from pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) in plants. NIS1 from two <i>Colletotrichum</i> spp. suppressed the hypersensitive respons

Fungicides generally inhibit enzymatic reactions involved in fungal cellular biosynthesis. Here we report, for the first time, an example of fungicidal effects through hyperactivation of a fungal signal transduction pathway. The OSC1 gene, encoding a MAP kinase (MAPK) related to yeast Hog1, was isolated from the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lagenarium that causes cucumber anthracnose. The osc1 knockout mutants were sensitive to high osmotic stress and showed increased resistance to the fungici

To search for virulence effector genes of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, we carried out a large-scale targeted disruption of genes for 78 putative secreted proteins that are expressed during the early stages of infection of M. oryzae. Disruption of the majority of genes did not affect growth, conidiation, or pathogenicity of M. oryzae. One exception was the gene MC69. The mc69 mutant showed a severe reduction in blast symptoms on rice and barley, indicating the importance of MC69 for

Colletotrichum lagenarium, the casual agent of anthracnose of cucumber, forms specialized infection structures, called appressoria, during infection. To evaluate the role of cAMP signaling in C. lagenarium, we isolated and functionally characterized the regulatory subunit gene of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). The RPK1 gene encoding the PKA regulatory subunit was isolated from C. lagenarium by polymerase chain reaction-based screening. rpk1 mutants, generated by gene replacement, exhib

Arabidopsis thaliana exhibits durable resistance, called nonhost resistance, against non-adapted fungal pathogens that typically terminates pathogen entry. The PEN2-dependent indole glucosinolate metabolism pathway is involved in preventing the entry of a range of non-adapted fungi. Here, we report that ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE 1 (EDR1) functions in pre-invasive nonhost resistance. Plants lacking EDR1 exhibit impaired entry resistance to the non-adapted hemibiotrophic Colletotrichum gloeospor

In Colletotrichum lagenarium, which is the causal agent of cucumber anthracnose, PEX6 is required for peroxisome biogenesis and appressorium-mediated infection. To verify the roles of peroxisome-associated metabolism in fungal pathogenicity, we isolated and functionally characterized ICL1 of C. lagenarium, which encodes isocitrate lyase involved in the glyoxylate cycle in peroxisomes. The icl1 mutants failed to utilize fatty acids and acetate for growth. Although Icl1 has no typical peroxisomal

7-Methylguanosine (m7G) modification of tRNA occurs widely in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, although information about its biological roles is limited. Here, we report that a gene involved in m7G modification of tRNA is required for infection by the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum lagenarium. Analysis of the infection-deficient mutant of C. lagenarium, produced by plasmid insertional mutagenesis, identified a tagged gene that is designated APH1. The aph1 mutants, generated by targeted gene d

A phytopathogenic fungus, Colletotrichum lagenarium, produces melanized appressoria that display temperature-sensitive differentiation. Conidia incubated in water at 24(deg)C germinated, and germ tubes differentiated into melanized appressoria. On the other hand, conidia incubated in water at 32(deg)C germinated and produced germ tubes that elongated without appressorium differentiation. Conidia in 0.1% yeast extract solution at 32(deg)C germinated and developed into vegetative hyphae. In this s

Colletotrichum lagenarium and Alternaria alternata produce a dark pigment, melanin. The C. lagenarium PKS1 and A. alternata ALM genes are involved in polyketide synthesis in the melanin biosynthesis pathway. PKS1 encodes a type 1 polyketide synthase. For functional comparison of the ALM gene with the PKS1 gene, we examined whether the A. alternata ALM gene could restore melanin synthesis in C. lagenarium albino mutant (Pks1-). The ALM gene transformed the albino mutant (Pks1-) to melanin-produci

SPM1, encoding a putative subtilisin-like protease, is involved in pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, but its detailed function remains unknown. Here, we report that SPM1 encodes a vacuole-localized protease that is a critical component for autophagy during the infection process of M. oryzae. Detailed phenotypic analysis of targeted disruption mutants of SPM1 revealed that the mutants have pleiotropic defects in infection-related steps including germination, appressorium

Plant immune responses triggered upon recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) typically restrict pathogen growth without a host cell death response. We isolated two Arabidopsis mutants, derived from accession Col-0, that activated cell death upon inoculation with nonadapted fungal pathogens. Notably, the mutants triggered cell death also when treated with bacterial MAMPs such as flg22. Positional cloning identified NSL1 (Necrotic Spotted Lesion 1) as a responsible gene for t