The cAMP signal transduction pathway mediates resistance to dicarboximide and aromatic hydrocarbon fungicides in Ustilago maydis.

The cAMP signal transduction pathway mediates the switch between yeast-like and filamentous growth and influences both sexual development and pathogenicity in the smut fungus Ustilago maydis. Signaling via cAMP may also play a role in fungicide resistance in U. maydis. In particular, the adr1 gene, which encodes the catalytic subunit of the U. maydis cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), is implicated in resistance to the dicarboximide and aromatic hydrocarbon fungicides. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of PKA to vinclozolin and could not demonstrate direct inhibition of protein kinase activity. However, we did find that mutants with disruptions in the ubc1 gene, which encodes the regulatory subunit of PKA, were resistant to both vinclozolin and chloroneb. We also found that these fungicides altered the morphology of both wild-type and ubc1 mutant cells. In addition, strains that are defective in ubc1 display osmotic sensitivity, a property often associated with vinclozolin and chloroneb resistance in other fungi.

A serine (threonine) protein kinase confers fungicide resistance in the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis.

A mutant of Ustilago maydis (VR43) with single-gene resistance to the dicarboximide fungicide vinclozolin was previously isolated and characterized. A genomic library was constructed, and an 8.7-kb resistance-conferring fragment was isolated by sib selection. Sequencing this fragment, we identified an 1,218-bp open reading frame, which, if disrupted by deletion, no longer confers resistance. Analyses of the data in GenBank demonstrated a high degree of homology between the product of the 1,218-bp open reading frame, referred to as the adr-1 gene, and Ser (Thr) protein kinases.

Characterization of a cDNA encoding a manganese peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium: genomic organization of lignin and manganese peroxidase-encoding genes.

Two heme proteins, manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP), play key roles in the fungal depolymerization of lignin. Many cDNA and genomic clones encoding these peroxidases have been published. We report here on the cDNA lambda MP-2 encoding the MnP isozyme H3 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium strain BKM-F-1767. We also demonstrate that the MnP-encoding gene, lambda MP-1, encoding isozyme H4, and lambda MP-2 reside on separate chromosomes from each other and from the LiP-encoding genes. From these results, it is apparent that lambda MP-2 is not linked to lambda MP-1 or other genes believed to be involved in lignin depolymerization, such as the LiP and glyoxal oxidase.

Lignin-Degrading Enzymes of the Commercial Button Mushroom, Agaricus bisporus.

Agaricus bisporus, grown under standard composting conditions, was evaluated for its ability to produce lignin-degrading peroxidases, which have been shown to have an integral role in lignin degradation by wood-rotting fungi. The activity of manganese peroxidase was monitored throughout the production cycle of the fungus, from the time of colonization of the compost through the development of fruit bodies. Characterization of the enzyme was done with a crude compost extract. Manganese peroxidase was found to have a pI of 3.5 and a pH optimum of 5.4 to 5.5, with maximal activity during the initial stages of fruiting (pin stage). The activity declined considerably with fruit body maturation (first break). This apparent developmentally regulated pattern parallels that observed for laccase activity and for degradation of radiolabeled lignin and synthetic lignins by A. bisporus. Lignin peroxidase activity was not detected in the compost extracts. The correlation between the activities of manganese peroxidase and laccase and the degradation of lignin in A. bisporus suggests significant roles for these two enzymes in lignin degradation by this fungus.

Ubiquity of lignin-degrading peroxidases among various wood-degrading fungi.

Phanerochaete chrysosporium is rapidly becoming a model system for the study of lignin biodegradation. Numerous studies on the physiology, biochemistry, chemistry, and genetics of this system have been performed. However, P. chrysosporium is not the only fungus to have a lignin-degrading enzyme system. Many other ligninolytic species of fungi, as well as other distantly related organisms which are known to produce lignin peroxidases, are described in this paper. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of the peroxidative enzymes in nine species not previously investigated. The fungi studied produced significant manganese peroxidase activity when they were grown on an oak sawdust substrate supplemented with wheat bran, millet, and sucrose. Many of the fungi also exhibited laccase and/or glyoxal oxidase activity. Inhibitors present in the medium prevented measurement of lignin peroxidase activity. However, Western blots (immunoblots) revealed that several of the fungi produced lignin peroxidase proteins. We concluded from this work that lignin-degrading peroxidases are present in nearly all ligninolytic fungi, but may be expressed differentially in different species. Substantial variability exists in the levels and types of ligninolytic enzymes produced by different white not fungi.

Lignin and veratryl alcohol are not inducers of the ligninolytic system of Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Phanerochaete chrysosporium is a white rot fungus which secretes a family of lignin-degrading enzymes under nutrient limitation. In this work, we investigated the roles of veratryl alcohol and lignin in the ligninolytic system of P. chrysosporium BKM-F-1767 cultures grown under nitrogen-limited conditions. Cultures supplemented with 0.4 to 2 mM veratryl alcohol showed increased lignin peroxidase activity. Addition of veratryl alcohol had no effect on Mn-dependent peroxidase activity and inhibited glyoxal oxidase activity. Azure-casein analysis of acidic proteases in the extracellular fluid showed that protease activity decreased during the early stages of secondary metabolism while lignin peroxidase activity was at its peak, suggesting that proteolysis was not involved in the regulation of lignin peroxidase activity during early secondary metabolism. In cultures supplemented with lignin or veratryl alcohol, no induction of mRNA coding for lignin peroxidase H2 or H8 was observed. Veratryl alcohol protected lignin peroxidase isozymes H2 and H8 from inactivation by H2O2. We conclude that veratryl alcohol acts as a stabilizer of lignin peroxidase activity and not as an inducer of lignin peroxidase synthesis.

Overproduction of lignin-degrading enzymes by an isolate of Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Phanerochaete chrysosporium is a white rot fungus which secretes a family of lignin-degrading enzymes under nutrient limitation. PSBL-1 is a mutant of this organism that generates the ligninolytic system under nonlimiting conditions during primary metabolism. Lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, and glyoxal oxidase activities for PSBL-1 under nonlimiting conditions were 4- to 10-fold higher than those of the wild type (WT) under nitrogen-limiting conditions. PSBL-1 was still in the log phase of growth while secreting the enzymes, whereas the WT had ceased to grow by this time. As in the WT, manganese(II) increased manganese peroxidase activity in the mutant. However, manganese also caused an increase in lignin peroxidase and glyoxal oxidase activities in PSBL-1. Addition of veratryl alcohol to the culture medium stimulated lignin peroxidase activity, inhibited glyoxal oxidase activity, and had little effect on manganese peroxidase activity in PSBL-1, as in the WT. Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) analysis shows production of larger amounts of isozyme H2 in PSBL-1 than in the WT. These properties make PSBL-1 very useful for isolation of large amounts of all ligninolytic enzymes for biochemical study, and they open the possibility of scale-up production for pratical use.