Adenylsuccinate Synthetase MoADE12 Plays Important Roles in the Development and Pathogenicity of the Rice Blast Fungus.

Purines are basic components of nucleotides in living organisms. In this study, we identified the ortholog of adenylosuccinate synthase in by screening for growth-defective T-DNA insertional mutants. Gene replacement was performed to investigate the biological role of . mutants were adenine auxotrophs that failed to produce conidia, and showed reduced perithecia formation and pathogenicity. Moreover, the mutant was hypersensitive to Congo red and oxidants, indicating that was required for cell wall integrity and oxidative stress resistance. Transcriptomic analysis identified the underlying mechanisms and indicated that several pathogenicity-related genes were regulated in the mutant. Therefore, our data suggest that the adenylosuccinate synthase is involved in the de novo AMP biosynthesis pathway and is important for conidiation and pathogenicity in the rice blast fungus.