CsSNF1 kinase plays important roles in fungal development and virulence of the pepper anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum scovillei

Abstract

Pepper is a vegetable that is used and cultivated worldwide. The quality and production of pepper are reduced by fruit anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum scovillei. The highly conserved fungal sucrose non‐fermenting 1 (SNF1)‐related AMPK protein kinases are implicated in the pathogenicity and differentiation of several destructive foliar fungal pathogens; in addition, they affect fungal growth in the presence of glucose at different concentrations and under different environmental stresses. However, the function of SNF1 in C. scovillei is unclear. We functionally characterized SNF1 of C. scovillei using a targeted deletion mutant (ΔCssnf1) generated by homology‐dependent replacement. ΔCssnf1 was severely impaired in mycelial growth under glucose‐limited conditions; multiple defects in conidiation, conidial germination, appressorium formation, lipid degradation and vacuole formation were also observed. Compared to the wild type, ΔCssnf1 caused anthracnose disease of reduced severity on intact and wounded pepper fruits. These defects were recovered in the complemented strain (Cssnf1c). Taken together, our findings implicate CsSNF1 in the growth, development and virulence of C. scovillei.