Functional Characterization of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase in .

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), a common oxidoreductase in organisms, is an aldehyde scavenger involved in various metabolic processes. However, its function in different pathogenic fungi remains unknown. causes Fusarium head blight in cereals, which reduces grain yield and quality and is an important global food security problem. To elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of , seven genes encoding ALDH were knocked out and then studied for their function. Single deletions of seven ALDH genes caused a decrease in spore production and weakened the pathogenicity. Furthermore, these deletions altered susceptibility to various abiotic stresses. is associated with a number of functions, including mycelial growth and development, stress sensitivity, pathogenicity, toxin production, and energy metabolism. and are involved in sporulation, pathogenicity, and SDH activity, while the other five genes are multifunctional. Notably, we found that has an inhibitory impact on ALDH activity, whereas has a positive impact. RNA sequencing and subcellular location analysis revealed that is responsible for biological process regulation, including glucose and lipid metabolism. Our results suggest that ALDH contributes to growth, stress responses, pathogenicity, deoxynivalenol synthesis, and mitochondrial energy metabolism in . Finally, ALDH presents a potential target and theoretical basis for fungicide development.