Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Institute, Rishon LeZion, Israel.
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Virulence. 2022 Dec;13(1):1252-1269. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2101210.
The host - pathogen interaction is a multifactorial process subject to a co-evolutionary arms race consisting of rapid changes in both host and pathogen, controlled at the genetic and epigenetic levels. Previously, we showed intra-species variation in disease progression and pathogenicity in aphids for isolates MbK and Mb7. Herein, we compared genomic, epigenetic, and metabolomic variations between these isolates and their effects on pathogenicity. Genomic variation could not completely explain the observed differences between the isolates. However, differential N6-adenine methylation (6 mA) and its correlation to reduced expression of the essential SWC4 subunit of SWR1 chromatin-remodelling complex (SWR1-C) led us to hypothesize a role for in the varying pathogenicity. Mutagenesis of the essential gene in MbKisolate resulted in reduction of secondary-metabolite (SM) secretion and impaired virulence in . Our results suggest the role of SWC4 in the regulation of SMs and the role of both SWC4 and SWR1-C in virulence of isolates. A better understanding of epigenetic regulation of SM production and secretion in entomopathogenic fungi may enable theirmanipulation for better biocontrol performance, and expand possibilities for environmentally friendly pest control.
宿主-病原体相互作用是一个多因素的过程，受到遗传和表观遗传水平上的快速宿主和病原体变化的共同进化军备竞赛的控制。此前，我们显示了蚜虫中 MbK 和 Mb7 分离株的疾病进展和致病性的种内变异。在此，我们比较了这些分离株之间的基因组、表观基因组和代谢组学变化及其对致病性的影响。基因组变异不能完全解释分离株之间的差异。然而，N6-腺嘌呤甲基化（6mA）的差异及其与 SWR1 染色质重塑复合物（SWR1-C）的必需 SWC4 亚基表达降低的相关性，使我们假设在不同的致病性中起作用。MbK 分离株中必需基因的突变导致次生代谢物（SM）分泌减少和致病性受损。我们的结果表明，SWC4 在 SM 调节中的作用以及 SWC4 和 SWR1-C 在分离株毒力中的作用。更好地理解昆虫病原真菌中 SM 产生和分泌的表观遗传调控，可能使其能够进行更好的生物控制性能的操纵，并扩大对环境友好型害虫控制的可能性。
