Mating-Type Genes Control Sexual Reproduction, Conidial Germination, and Virulence in .

(anamorph: ) is a major pathogenic fungus that causes the Curvularia leaf spot of maize. and , the orthologs of and , were investigated in the present study to uncover their functions in . Southern blot analysis showed that these mating-type genes exist in the genome as a single copy. and were knocked out and complemented to generate Δ and Δ and ΔC and ΔC, respectively. The mutant strains had defective sexual development and failed to produce pseudothecia. There were no significant differences in growth rate or conidia production between the mutant and wild-type strains. However, the aerial mycelia and mycelial dry weight of Δ and Δ were lower than those of wild type, suggesting that genes affect asexual development. genes were involved in the responses to cell wall integrity and osmotic adaptation. Δ had a lower conidial germination rate than the wild-type strain CX-3. The virulence of Δ and Δ was also reduced compared with the wild-type. Complementary strains could restore all the phenotypes.