Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases SvPmk1 and SvMps1 Are Critical for Abiotic Stress Resistance, Development and Pathogenesis of .

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes and modulate responses to both internal and external stimuli. Pmk1 and Mps MAPK pathways regulate stress tolerance, vegetative growth and cell wall integrity in and . Here, we deployed genetic and cell biology strategies to investigate the roles of the orthologs of Pmk1 and Mps1 in (herein referred to as SvPmk1 and SvMps1, respectively). Our results showed that SvPmk1 and SvMps1 are involved in hyphal development, asexual reproduction and pathogenesis in . We found that and mutants have significantly reduced vegetative growths on PDA supplemented with osmotic stress-inducing agents, compared to the wild type, with being hypersensitive to hydrogen peroxide. The two mutants failed to produce pycnidia and have reduced pathogenicity on . Unlike SvPmk1, SvMps1 was found to be indispensable for the fungal cell wall integrity. Confocal microscopic analyses revealed that and are ubiquitously expressed in the cytosol and nucleus. Taken together, we demonstrate here that SvPmk1 and SvMps1 play critical roles in the stress resistance, development and pathogenesis of .