Translation Initiation Factor eIF4E Positively Modulates Conidiogenesis, Appressorium Formation, Host Invasion and Stress Homeostasis in the Filamentous Fungi .

Translation initiation factor eIF4E generally mediates the recognition of the 5'cap structure of mRNA during the recruitment of the ribosomes to capped mRNA. Although the eIF4E has been shown to regulate stress response in positively, there is no direct experimental evidence for the contributions of eIF4E to both physiological and pathogenic development of filamentous fungi. We generated () gene deletion strains using homologous recombination strategies. Phenotypic and biochemical analyses of defective strains showed that the deletion of triggered a significant reduction in growth and conidiogenesis. We also showed that disruption of partially impaired conidia germination, appressorium integrity and attenuated the pathogenicity of Δ strains. In summary, this study provides experimental insights into the contributions of the eIF4E3 to the development of filamentous fungi. Additionally, these observations underscored the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the translational regulatory machinery in phytopathogenic fungi during pathogen-host interaction progression.