Glycoside Hydrolase MoGls2 Controls Asexual/Sexual Development, Cell Wall Integrity and Infectious Growth in the Rice Blast Fungus.

N-linked glycosylation is a way of glycosylation for newly synthesized protein, which plays a key role in the maturation and transport of proteins. Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are essential in this process, and are involved in processing of N-linked glycoproteins or degradation of carbohydrate structures. Here, we identified and characterized MoGls2 in Magnaporthe oryzae, which is a yeast glucosidase II homolog Gls2 and is required for trimming the final glucose in N-linked glycans and normal cell wall synthesis. Target deletion of MoGLS2 in M. oryzae resulted in a reduced mycelial growth, an increased conidial production, delayed conidial germination and loss the ability of sexual reproduction. Pathogenicity assays revealed that the ΔMogls2 mutant showed significantly decreased in virulence and infectious growth. Further studies showed that the mutant was less sensitive to salt and osmotic stress, and increased sensitivity to cell wall stresses. Additionally, the ΔMogls2 mutant showed a defect in cell wall integrity. Our results indicate that MoGls2 is a key protein for the growth and development of M. oryzae, involving in the regulation of asexual/sexual development, stress response, cell wall integrity and infectious growth.