Functional Analysis Of FvKex2in Fusarium Verticillioides

Fusarium verticillioides is one of the most important fungal pathogens. Functional analysis of critical genes can understand the interaction mechanism of between the plant and the fungus. It maybe pave the way for giving us new metheds for disease management. So in this paper, a homologous gene of kexin named FvKex2（FVEG₀3645） is predictively encoding serine protease in F. verticillioides. FvKex2, highly homologous with a reported serine protease SPM1which possesses kexin-like activity. Serine proteases, a kind of proteins, exist widely in eukaryotes, prokaryotes and viruses, and have been reported as potential pathogenic factors. Until now, the functions of the most serine proteases in F. verticillioides are unclear.So in the study, deletion mutantsâ–³FvKex2have been generated by protoplast transformation. Phenotype sand pathogenicities of these above mutants were analyzed to find their roles in growth, development and pathogenicity. According to the results,â–³FvKex2defects in hyphae growth and hyphae morphological variation, losts ability of pathogenicity on theplant. In a word, FvKex2is a pathogenicity-related gene which was involved in growth, development, conidiation and pathogenicity of F. verticillioides.