Filippou Charalampos, Coutts Robert H A, Kotta-Loizou Ioly, El-Kamand Sam, Papanicolaou Alexie
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, 2404 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Department of Clinical, Pharmaceutical and Biological Science, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK.
J Fungi (Basel). 2025 Jan 15;11(1):63. doi: 10.3390/jof11010063.
Mycoviral infection can either be asymptomatic or have marked effects on fungal hosts, influencing them either positively or negatively. To fully understand the effects of mycovirus infection on the fungal host, transcriptomic profiling of four isolates, including EABb 92/11-Dm that harbors mycoviruses, was performed 48 h following infection of via topical application or injection. Genes that participate in carbohydrate assimilation and transportation, and those essential for fungal survival and oxidative stress tolerance, calcium uptake, and iron uptake, were found to be overexpressed in the virus-infected isolate during the mid-infection stage. Mycotoxin genes encoding bassianolide and oosporein were switched off in all isolates. However, beauvericin, a mycotoxin capable of inducing oxidative stress at the molecular level, was expressed in all four isolates, indicating an important contribution to virulence against . These observations suggest that detoxification of immune-related (oxidative) defenses and nutrient scouting, as mediated by these genes, occurs in mid-infection during the internal growth phase. Consequently, we observe a symbiotic relationship between mycovirus and fungus that does not afflict the host; on the contrary, it enhances the expression of key genes leading to a mycovirus-mediated hypervirulence effect.
真菌病毒感染可能无症状，也可能对真菌宿主产生显著影响，对其影响可能是积极的，也可能是消极的。为了全面了解真菌病毒感染对真菌宿主的影响，在通过局部应用或注射感染后48小时，对包括携带真菌病毒的EABb 92/11-Dm在内的四个分离株进行了转录组分析。发现在感染中期，参与碳水化合物同化和运输的基因，以及对真菌存活、氧化应激耐受性、钙摄取和铁摄取至关重要的基因，在病毒感染的分离株中过度表达。编码球孢白僵菌素和卵孢霉素的霉菌毒素基因在所有分离株中均被关闭。然而，一种能够在分子水平上诱导氧化应激的霉菌毒素——白僵菌素，在所有四个分离株中均有表达，表明其对毒力有重要贡献。这些观察结果表明，由这些基因介导的免疫相关（氧化）防御解毒和营养搜寻发生在内部生长阶段的感染中期。因此，我们观察到真菌病毒与真菌之间存在一种共生关系，这种关系不会折磨宿主；相反，它增强了关键基因的表达，导致真菌病毒介导的超毒力效应。
