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Tec1, a member of the TEA transcription factors family, is involved in virulence and basidiocarp development in Ustilago maydis

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Abstract

The life cycle of Ustilago maydis involves alternation of a haploid saprophytic yeast-like stage and a dikaryotic hyphal virulent form. Under in vitro conditions, basidiocarps are formed. Analysis of the transcriptional network of basidiocarp formation revealed the possible involvement of a Tec transcription factor (Tec1, UMAG_02835) in the process. In some Ascomycota, Tec factors are involved in mycelial formation, pathogenesis, and interaction with other regulatory elements, but their role in Basidiomycota species is almost unknown. Accordingly, we proceeded to determine the role of this gene in U. maydis by its mutation. Tec1 was found to be a crucial factor for normal mating, basidiocarp development, and virulence, all of the functions related to the dikaryotic stage dependent of the b genes, whereas dimorphism and resistance to different stress conditions occurring in the haploid stage were not affected in tec1 mutants. The observation that mutants showed a low residual wild-type phenotype suggests the presence of a secondary mechanism that partially compensates the loss of Tec1.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are given to JA Cisneros-Duran and JE Reynoso-Jiménez for their technical assistance.

Funding

This work was partially supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), México.

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CGLR, JASA, MFSC, and JLCP designed and did the experimental work; CGLR, JASA, and JRH were involved in writing the manuscript; JRH obtained the funding and supervised the work; DMS, ETAC, and MLOC did the bioinformatic and data analysis; LSS was responsible for all microscopic analyses.

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Correspondence to José Ruiz-Herrera.

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Supplementary Information

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Supplementary Information Fig. 1.

FUZ reaction between the Δtec1-1 and Δtec1-2 mutants. (JPG 78 KB)

Supplementary Information Fig. 2.

Cell morphology of U. maydis strains grown on minimal medium containing different carbon sources and pH. Notice the magnification on the pictures. U. maydis cells (a2b2 wt and Δtec1-2) strains A) grown in pH7 minimal medium with a fatty acid and stained with calcofluor white, B) grown in pH3 minimal medium with glucose and stained with calcofluor white. (PDF 936 KB)

Supplementary Information Fig. 3.

3. Effect of different types of stress. Decimal dilutions of cell suspensions (107) cells/ mL) (a1b1, a2b2) Δtec1-1 and 1-2 mutants and wt strains were spotted on MM pH7 plates and grown for 72 h at 28oC. 1.5 M Sorbitol; 120 μg/mL Rose bengal; 5mM LiCl; 1M NaCl; 1.2M KCl. (PDF 268 KB)

Supplementary Information Fig. 4.

Stress with hydrogen peroxide to measure the sensitivity to reactive oxygen species. MM pH7 with filter papers circles impregnated with a solution of H2O2 at 30% were placed over plates grown with the wild type or mutant strains. (PDF 292 KB)

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León-Ramírez, C.G., Sánchez-Arreguin, J.A., Cabrera-Ponce, J.L. et al. Tec1, a member of the TEA transcription factors family, is involved in virulence and basidiocarp development in Ustilago maydis. Int Microbiol 25, 17–26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-021-00188-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-021-00188-8

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