Interplay of two transcription factors for recruitment of the chromatin remodeling complex modulates fungal nitrosative stress response

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 2576 - 17
• Main Authors: Jian, Yunqing, Liu, Zunyong, Wang, Haixia, Chen, Yun, Yin, Yanni, Zhao, Youfu, Ma, Zhonghua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06.05.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/193/2543; 631/326/421; 631/337/176; 631/449/2169; Animal tissues; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Biodegradation; Cereal crops; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly - genetics; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; Chromatin remodeling; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone - genetics; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone - metabolism; Fungi; Fusarium - genetics; Fusarium - metabolism; Fusarium - pathogenicity; Fusarium graminearum; GATA Transcription Factors - genetics; GATA Transcription Factors - metabolism; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal - genetics; Genes; High Mobility Group Proteins - genetics; High Mobility Group Proteins - metabolism; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immune response; Microorganisms; multidisciplinary; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Nitrogen; Nitrosative Stress; Pathogens; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant immunity; Promoters; Reactive nitrogen species; Recruitment; Regulators; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); SMARCB1 Protein - genetics; SMARCB1 Protein - metabolism; SWI/SNF complex; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Triticum - microbiology; Zea mays - microbiology
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22831-8

Nitric oxide (NO) is a diffusible signaling molecule that modulates animal and plant immune responses. In addition, reactive nitrogen species derived from NO can display antimicrobial activities by reacting with microbial cellular components, leading to nitrosative stress (NS) in pathogens. Here, we identify FgAreB as a regulator of the NS response in Fusarium graminearum , a fungal pathogen of cereal crops. FgAreB serves as a pioneer transcription factor for recruitment of the chromatin-remodeling complex SWI/SNF at the promoters of genes involved in the NS response, thus promoting their transcription. FgAreB plays important roles in fungal infection and growth. Furthermore, we show that a transcription repressor (FgIxr1) competes with the SWI/SNF complex for FgAreB binding, and negatively regulates the NS response. NS, in turn, promotes the degradation of FgIxr1, thus enhancing the recruitment of the SWI/SNF complex by FgAreB. Plant and animal tissues produce nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen species that induce nitrosative stress in pathogens. Here, Jian et al. identify two transcriptional regulators in the phytopathogen Fusarium graminearum that control the nitrosative stress response by modulating the recruitment of a chromatin-remodelling complex at the promoters of the response genes.