A C2H2 Zinc Finger Protein PlCZF1 Is Necessary for Oospore Development and Virulence in Peronophythora litchii

Abstract

C2H2 zinc finger is one of the most common motifs found in the transcription factors (TFs) in eukaryotes organisms, which have a broad range of functions, such as regulation of growth and development, stress tolerance and pathogenicity. Here, PlCZF1 was identified to encode a C2H2 zinc finger in the litchi downy blight pathogen Peronophythora litchii. PlCZF1 is conserved in P. litchii and Phytophthora species. In P. litchii, PlCZF1 is highly expressed in sexual developmental and early infection stages. We generated Δplczf1 mutants using the CRISPR/Cas9 method. Compared with the wild type, the Δplczf1 mutants showed no significant difference in vegetative growth and asexual reproduction, but were defective in oospore development and virulence. Further experiments revealed that the transcription of PlM90, PlLLP and three laccase encoding genes were down-regulated in the Δplczf1 mutant. Our results demonstrated that PlCZF1 is a vital regulator for sexual development and pathogenesis in P. litchii.

The devastating oomycete phytopathogen Phytophthora cactorum: Insights into its biology and molecular features

“…With the rapid development of biotechnologies, a CRISPR/Cas9‐based genome editing system was successfully established in P. sojae (Fang & Tyler, 2016 ). This has brought a powerful new genetic tool to the oomycete community and thus enables researchers to do efficient gene knockout/knock‐in analyses in Phytophthora and other oomycete species (e.g., Chen et al, 2019 ; Gu et al, 2021 ; Gumtow et al, 2018 ; Ochola et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Zhu et al, 2022 ). More recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been established for P. cactorum (Huang & Chen, Yangzhou University, China, unpublished data).…”

Aptamer–Protein Interactions: From Regulation to Biomolecular Detection

“…In recent years, research on the formation mechanism of metal–amino acid–nucleoside ternary compounds facilitate the in-depth understanding of aptamer–protein chelation mediated by metal ions. − Metal ions can be contained in proteins or aptamers, driving the metal chelation between aptamers and proteins to promote their binding. , Thus, a series of analytical strategies based on metal chelation have been established for biomolecular detection. The zinc finger structure is a Zn 2+ -dependent folded finger-like domain. , Proteins with zinc finger structures (zinc-finger proteins) are usually functional proteins involved in the regulation of gene expression. , For instance, as a key biomarker of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7) contains two zinc-finger structures and plays a critical role in viral reverse transcription. , To achieve high-sensitivity detection of NCp7, an aptamer tightly bound to NCp7 was developed, and their interaction was found to be strongly dependent on Zn 2+ . , Based on the specific interactions between NCp7 and its aptamer, Niedzwiecki et al combined the nanopore technique with the resistive-pulse technique for NCp7 quantification . With increasing concentrations of NCp7, the amplitude of current blockades enhanced proportionally, thus achieving highly sensitive detection of NCp7.…”

“…The zinc finger structure is a Zn 2+ -dependent folded finger-like domain. 417,418 Proteins with zinc finger structures (zinc-finger proteins) are usually functional proteins involved in the regulation of gene expression. 419,420 For instance, as a key biomarker of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7) contains two zinc-finger structures and plays a critical role in viral reverse transcription.…”

Bunyaviruses Affect Growth, Sporulation, and Elicitin Production in Phytophthora cactorum

“…The domain is found in the PiggyBac transposable elementderived proteins (PGBDs) as well as in some uncharacterized proteins, but its function is not known [63]. Among the DEGs with lower cut-offs (1.5-2), upregulated genes also included, e.g., a CAP (cysteine-rich secretory proteins, antigen 5, and pathogenesis-related 1) domain that likely functions in sequestering sterols from plants [64,65], a C2H2 zinc finger domain that has putative roles in oospore development and virulence [66], and a "necrosis inducing protein" which refers to NPP1-like proteins in Oomycetes capable of inducing ROS and HR-like cell death in the host [67] (Supplementary Table S1).…”