Identification and molecular cloning Moplaa gene, a homologue of Homo sapiens PLAA, in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Magnaporthe oryzae has been used as a model fungal pathogen to study the molecular basis of plant-fungus interactions due to its economic and genetic importance. In this study, we identified a novel gene, Moplaa, which is the homologue of Homo sapiens PLAA encoding a phospholipase A(2)-activating protein. Moplaa is conserved in some eukaryotic organisms by multiple alignment analysis. The function of the Moplaa gene was studied using the gene target replacement method. The Moplaa deletion mutant exhibited retarded growth and conidial germination, reduced conidiation, appressorial turgor pressure and pathogenicity to rice CO-39. Reintroduction of the gene restored defects of the Moplaa deletion mutant.