1 Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark 19716, U.S.A.; and.
2 Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark 19711, U.S.A.
Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2017 Jul;30(7):517-530. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-11-16-0236-R. Epub 2017 May 15.
RNA interference (RNAi) is conserved in eukaryotic organisms, and it has been well studied in many animal and plant species and some fungal species, yet it is not well studied in fungal plant pathogens. In the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, we examined small RNA (sRNA) and their biogenesis in the context of growth and pathogenicity. Through genetic and genomic analyses, we demonstrate that loss of a single gene encoding Dicer, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, or Argonaute reduces sRNA levels. These three proteins are required for the biogenesis of sRNA-matching genome-wide regions (coding regions, repeats, and intergenic regions). The loss of one Argonaute reduced both sRNA and fungal virulence on barley leaves. Transcriptome analysis of multiple mutants revealed that sRNA play an important role in transcriptional regulation of repeats and intergenic regions in M. oryzae. Together, these data support that M. oryzae sRNA regulate developmental processes including, fungal growth and virulence.
RNA 干扰（RNAi）在真核生物中是保守的，它在许多动物和植物物种以及一些真菌物种中得到了很好的研究，但在真菌植物病原体中研究得还不够。在稻瘟病菌 Magnaporthe oryzae 中，我们研究了生长和致病性背景下的小 RNA（sRNA）及其生物发生。通过遗传和基因组分析，我们证明单个基因缺失，该基因编码 Dicer、RNA 依赖性 RNA 聚合酶或 Argonaute，会降低 sRNA 水平。这三种蛋白对于 sRNA 匹配全基因组区域（编码区域、重复序列和基因间区域）的生物发生是必需的。Argonaute 的缺失会降低 sRNA 的水平和真菌在大麦叶片上的毒力。对多个突变体的转录组分析表明，sRNA 在 M. oryzae 中重复序列和基因间区域的转录调控中发挥重要作用。综上所述，这些数据表明 M. oryzae 的 sRNA 调节包括真菌生长和毒力在内的发育过程。
