Functional Analysis Of A HOPS Complex Subunit MoVps41 In Magnaporthe Oryzae

The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae,infects many important cereal crops,particularly rice.It has emerged as an important model organism for studying the growth,development and pathogenesis of filamentous fungi.It is reported that endocytosis is involved in the pathogenicity of the M.oryzae.The homotypic fusion and protein sorting protein complex(HOPS)plays a key role in promoting homotypic vacuolar fusion,vacuolar biogenesis and endocytic trafficking in eukaryotes ranging from fungi to plants and animals.The HOPS complex include six subunits(Vps11,Vps16,Vps18,Vps33,Vps39 and Vps41).In this study,we have identified M.oryzae vacuolar protein sorting 41(MoVps41),an accessory subunit of the HOPS complex,and knockedout MoVPS41 gene which was defective in sexual and asexual reproduction.△Movps41 mutants were also defective in terms of growth and infection.No disease symptoms were observed after using hyphal plugs of△Movps41 mutant to inoculate normal and wounded barley and rice leaves,and intact rice roots,indicating that MoVps41 is required for pathogenicity of M.oryzae.In addition,MoVps41 deficiency resulted in vacuolar fragmentation and increased sensitivity to excess intracellular metal ions.We as well used inhibitors to test the sensitivity of MoVPS41 gene to cell wall and osmotic stresses,and to investigate its influence in vesicle transport.