Protein Disulfide Isomerase FgEps1 Is a Secreted Virulence Factor in Fusarium graminearum

• Published in: Journal of fungi (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 10; p. 1009
• Main Authors: Liu, Kouhan, Wang, Xintong, Li, Ying, Shi, Yifeng, Ren, Yanyan, Wang, Aolin, Zhao, Bingjie, Cheng, Peng, Wang, Baotong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 12.10.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Chemical bonds; fungal growth; Fungi; Fusarium graminearum; Genes; Immune response; Immunological tolerance; Infections; Kinases; Maximum likelihood method; Metabolism; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Peptides; Phylogenetics; Plasmids; protein disulfide isomerase FgEps1; Protein disulfide-isomerase; Proteins; Sexual reproduction; Thioredoxin; Virulence; virulence factor; Virulence factors; Yeast; United States > US
• ISSN: 2309-608X; 2309-608X
• DOI: 10.3390/jof9101009

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is a member of the thioredoxin (Trx) superfamily with important functions in cellular stability, ion uptake, and cellular differentiation. While PDI has been extensively studied in humans and animals, its role in fungi remains relatively unknown. In this study, the biological functions of FgEps1, a disulfide bond isomerase in the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum, were investigated. It was found that FgEps1 mutation affected nutritional growth, asexual and sexual reproduction, and stress tolerance. Additionally, its deletion resulted in reduced pathogenicity and impaired DON toxin biosynthesis. The involvement of FgEps1 in host infection was also confirmed, as its expression was detected during the infection period. Further investigation using a yeast signal peptide secretion system and transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana showed that FgEps1 suppressed the immune response of plants and promoted infection. These findings suggest that virulence factor FgEps1 plays a crucial role in growth, development, virulence, secondary metabolism, and host infection in F. graminearum.