Histone Acetyltransferase Rtt109 Regulates Development, Morphogenesis, and Citrinin Biosynthesis in .

Histone acetyltransferase (HAT) has been reported to be pivotal for various physiological processes in many fungi. However, the functions that HAT Rtt109 perform in edible fungi and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we identified the gene in , constructed the knockout strain (Δ) and its complementary strain (Δ:com) by CRISPR/Cas9 methods, and functionally characterized the roles that Rtt109 play in . Deletion of significantly reduced conidia formation and colony growth, whereas, it increased the yield of pigments (MPs) and citrinin (CTN). Further real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis indicated that Rtt109 remarkably affected the transcriptional expression of key genes related to development, morphogenesis, and secondary metabolism of . Together, our results revealed the critical roles of HAT Rtt109 in , and enriched our current knowledge of the development and regulation of secondary metabolism in fungi, throwing light on restraining or eliminating citrinin in the development and industrial applications of .