2025/07/19 by Seika Koya, Sae Shigeyoshi, Takuya Sumita +3 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects #Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
paper · doi:10.47371/mycosci.2025.05.002
openalex publication_date 2025/07/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Bipolaris maydis, the causal agent of southern corn leaf blight, possesses 10 putative homeobox genes in its genome. In this study, we disrupted and characterized a homeobox gene BmHox7 in B. maydis. While BmHox7 orthologues are required for appressorium formation in Sordariomycetous plant pathogenic fungi (Magnaporthe oryzae, Colletotrichum orbiculare, and C. scovillei), ΔBmHox7 strains formed appressoria normally and exhibited virulence comparable to the wild-type strain. However, in crossing test, ΔBmHox7 strains produced small, immature pseudothecia lacking beaks. Most pseudothecia of BmHox7 mutants contained no asci, indicating that BmHox7 is crucial for sexual reproduction. These findings demonstrate that in B. maydis, BmHox7 is crucial for sexual reproduction but dispensable for appressorial formation and pathogenicity.