Agronomy (Dec 2022)

ACT-Toxin, the Key Effector for the Virulence of <i>Alternaria alternata</i> Tangerine Pathotype to Specific Citrus Species

  • Suya Huang,
  • Zhaohui Jia,
  • Hangfei Li,
  • Shuting Zhang,
  • Junying Shen,
  • Yunpeng Gai,
  • Chen Jiao,
  • Xuepeng Sun,
  • Shuo Duan,
  • Min Wang,
  • Haijie Ma

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12123181
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 12
p. 3181

Abstract

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Alternaria brown spot disease is caused by the Alternaria alternata tangerine pathotype, which relies on ACT-toxin for infection. At present, all identified ACT-toxin biosynthesis-related genes are multi-copy genes. In this study, we summarized the advances in important host-specific toxins (HSTs), and listed key genes required for the pathogenicity of the A. alternata tangerine pathotype. Toxin virulence test results revealed that different citrus species displayed distinctly different tolerances to ACT-toxin. The extraction method of ACT-toxin crude extract was described in schematic form to make the method easier to understand. In addition, target gene disruption of two copies of ACTT5 (∆∆ACTT5) displayed significantly reduced virulence, indicating that ACTT5 is essential for the pathogenicity of the A. alternata tangerine pathotype.

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