Frontiers in Plant Science (Jun 2021)

Translation Initiation Factor eIF4E Positively Modulates Conidiogenesis, Appressorium Formation, Host Invasion and Stress Homeostasis in the Filamentous Fungi Magnaporthe oryzae

  • Wajjiha Batool,
  • Wajjiha Batool,
  • Ammarah Shabbir,
  • Ammarah Shabbir,
  • Lili Lin,
  • Lili Lin,
  • Xiaomin Chen,
  • Xiaomin Chen,
  • Qiuli An,
  • Qiuli An,
  • Xiongjie He,
  • Xiongjie He,
  • Shu Pan,
  • Shu Pan,
  • Shuzun Chen,
  • Shuzun Chen,
  • Qinghe Chen,
  • Qinghe Chen,
  • Qinghe Chen,
  • Zonghua Wang,
  • Zonghua Wang,
  • Zonghua Wang,
  • Justice Norvienyeku,
  • Justice Norvienyeku,
  • Justice Norvienyeku

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.646343
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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Translation initiation factor eIF4E generally mediates the recognition of the 5’cap structure of mRNA during the recruitment of the ribosomes to capped mRNA. Although the eIF4E has been shown to regulate stress response in Schizosaccharomyces pombe positively, there is no direct experimental evidence for the contributions of eIF4E to both physiological and pathogenic development of filamentous fungi. We generated Magnaporthe oryzae eIF4E (MoeIF4E3) gene deletion strains using homologous recombination strategies. Phenotypic and biochemical analyses of MoeIF4E3 defective strains showed that the deletion of MoeIF4E3 triggered a significant reduction in growth and conidiogenesis. We also showed that disruption of MoeIF4E3 partially impaired conidia germination, appressorium integrity and attenuated the pathogenicity of ΔMoeif4e3 strains. In summary, this study provides experimental insights into the contributions of the eIF4E3 to the development of filamentous fungi. Additionally, these observations underscored the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the translational regulatory machinery in phytopathogenic fungi during pathogen-host interaction progression.

Keywords