MaCts1, an Endochitinase, Is Involved in Conidial Germination, Conidial Yield, Stress Tolerances and Microcycle Conidiation in <i>Metarhizium acridum</i>
2022
Yuneng Zou | Chan Li | Shuqin Wang | Yuxian Xia | Kai Jin
Entomopathogenic fungi are promising biocontrol agents of insect-mediated crop damage. Microcycle conidiation has shown great potential in enhancing the conidial yield and quality of entomopathogenic fungi. Homologs of Cts1, an endochitinase of <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>, participate in cell separation in several fungal spp. and may contribute to the morphological differences that occur during the shift to microcycle conidiation. However, the precise functions of <i>Cts1</i> in entomopathogenic fungi remain unclear. Herein, the endochitinase gene, <i>MaCts1</i>, was characterized in the model entomopathogen, <i>Metarhizium acridum</i>. A loss of function line for <i>MaCts1</i> led to a delay of 1 h in the median germination time, a 28% reduction in conidial yield and significant defects in fungal resistances to UV-irradiation (18%) and heat-shock (15%), while fungal tolerances to cell wall stressors, oxidative and hyperosmotic stresses and virulence remained unchanged. The <i>MaCts1</i>-disruption strain displayed typical conidiation on the microcycle conidiation induction medium, SYA. In contrast, deletion of key genes in the morphogenesis-related NDR kinase network (MOR pathway)/regulation of Ace2 and morphogenesis (RAM pathway) did not affect the SYA-induction of microcycle conidiation. This indicates that <i>MaCts1</i> makes contributions to the microcycle conidiation, which may not be dependent on the MOR/RAM pathway in <i>M. acridum</i>.
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