Hxt1, a monosaccharide transporter and sensor required for virulence of the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis

Schuler D, Wahl R, Wippel K, Vranes M, Münsterkötter M, Sauer N, Kämper J (2015)


Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL

Book Volume: 206

Pages Range: 1086-1100

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1111/nph.13314

Open Access Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.13314/abstract

Abstract

The smut Ustilago maydis, a ubiquitous pest of corn, is highly adapted to its host to parasitize on its organic carbon sources. We have identified a hexose transporter, Hxt1, as important for fungal development during both the saprophytic and the pathogenic stage of the fungus. Hxt1 was characterized as a high-affinity transporter for glucose, fructose, and mannose; hxt1 strains show significantly reduced growth on these substrates, setting Hxt1 as the main hexose transporter during saprophytic growth. After plant infection, hxt1 strains show decreased symptom development. However, expression of a Hxt1 protein with a mutation leading to constitutively active signaling in the yeast glucose sensors Snf3p and Rgt2p results in completely apathogenic strains. Fungal development is stalled immediately after plant penetration, implying a dual function of Hxt1 as transporter and sensor. As glucose sensors are only known for yeasts, transceptor' as Hxt1 may constitute a general mechanism for sensing of glucose in fungi. In U.maydis, Hxt1 links a nutrient-dependent environmental signal to the developmental program during pathogenic development.

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How to cite

APA:

Schuler, D., Wahl, R., Wippel, K., Vranes, M., Münsterkötter, M., Sauer, N., & Kämper, J. (2015). Hxt1, a monosaccharide transporter and sensor required for virulence of the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis. New Phytologist, 206(3), 1086-1100. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13314

MLA:

Schuler, David, et al. "Hxt1, a monosaccharide transporter and sensor required for virulence of the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis." New Phytologist 206.3 (2015): 1086-1100.

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