The mysterious route of sterols in oomycetes

Wang, Weizhen; Liu, Xili; Govers, F.

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009591

Cited by 32 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Phytophthora sojae is one of the top 10 oomycete pathogens in molecular plant pathology and has been developed as a model oomycete (Tyler, 2007;Kamoun et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2020). It is worth noting that the different genera in oomycetes could be differentiated by their ability to synthesize sterols (Wang et al, 2021). Aphanomyces and Saprolegnia pathogens could synthesize sterols by themselves, with many key sterol biosynthesis enzymes in their genomes, while Phytophthora and Pythium are sterol auxotrophs due to the lack of important genes for sterol synthesis (Madoui et al, 2009;Jiang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, Hh-related genes are absent in oomycetes, presumably due to gene loss, which means that the Hh pathway is incomplete in oomycetes (Bürglin, 2008). However, SCPs were found in Phytophthora (Wang et al, 2021), and these proteins also contain Patched domains, which means that Ptc or Ptr homologous genes may exist in Phytophthora. Until now, the biological functions of SCPs in oomycetes remain unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Patched-Like Protein PsPTL Is Not Essential for the Growth and Response to Various Stresses in Phytophthora sojae

et al. 2021

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Patched (Ptc) and Patched-related (Ptr) proteins containing sterol-sensing domains (SSD) and Patched domains are highly conserved in eukaryotes for lipid transport and metabolism. Four proteins containing predicted SSD and Patched domains were simultaneously found by searching the Phytophthora sojae genome database, and one of them was identified as a Patched-like (PTL) protein. Here, we investigated the biological function of PsPTL. The expression level of PsPTL was higher during mycelial and sporulation stages, compared to zoospore (ZO), cyst, and germinated-cyst stages, without significant change during infection. However, deletion of PsPTL using CRISPR/Cas9 had no significant effect on the growth, development, or virulence of P. sojae. Further investigations showed that PsPTL is not essential for P. sojae to cope with external stresses such as temperature, pH, oxidative and osmotic pressure. In addition, this gene did not appear to play an essential role in P. sojae’s response to exogenous sterols. The transcript levels of the other three proteins containing predicted SSD and Patched domains were also not significantly upregulated in PsPTL deletion transformants. Our studies demonstrated that PsPTL is not an essential protein for P. sojae under the tested conditions, and more in-depth research is required for revealing the potential functions of PsPTL under special conditions or in other signaling pathways.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Patched-Like Protein PsPTL Is Not Essential for the Growth and Response to Various Stresses in Phytophthora sojae

et al. 2021

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“…However, some nutrients are indispensable for oomycetes. For instance, several oomycetes lost the ability to synthesize sterols ( Wang et al, 2021 ). These sterol auxotrophs secrete elicitins, oomycete-specific proteins that are thought to be sterol carriers and likely exploited for recruiting sterols from the environment ( Derevnina et al, 2016a ).…”

Section: The Interplay Between Host and Oomycete Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering the Role of Metabolism in Oomycete–Host Interactions Using Genome-Scale Metabolic Models

et al. 2021

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Metabolism is the set of biochemical reactions of an organism that enables it to assimilate nutrients from its environment and to generate building blocks for growth and proliferation. It forms a complex network that is intertwined with the many molecular and cellular processes that take place within cells. Systems biology aims to capture the complexity of cells, organisms, or communities by reconstructing models based on information gathered by high-throughput analyses (omics data) and prior knowledge. One type of model is a genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) that allows studying the distributions of metabolic fluxes, i.e., the “mass-flow” through the network of biochemical reactions. GEMs are nowadays widely applied and have been reconstructed for various microbial pathogens, either in a free-living state or in interaction with their hosts, with the aim to gain insight into mechanisms of pathogenicity. In this review, we first introduce the principles of systems biology and GEMs. We then describe how metabolic modeling can contribute to unraveling microbial pathogenesis and host–pathogen interactions, with a specific focus on oomycete plant pathogens and in particular Phytophthora infestans. Subsequently, we review achievements obtained so far and identify and discuss potential pitfalls of current models. Finally, we propose a workflow for reconstructing high-quality GEMs and elaborate on the resources needed to advance a system biology approach aimed at untangling the intimate interactions between plants and pathogens.

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“…Due to the importance of ergosterol in fungi, many compounds have been developed and applied to combat plant and animal diseases caused by fungi, including sterol synthesis inhibitors (SBI) that target the ergosterol synthesis pathway and polyene drugs (such as amphotericin B) that directly bind to ergosterol ( Vale-Silva et al, 2012 ; Gisi, 2014 ; Lepesheva et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless, the capacity of sterol synthesis has evolved independently between Peronosporales and Saprolegniales ( Wang et al, 2021 ). Species in Saprolegniales are sterol autotrophic, and a relatively complete set of genes in the sterol synthesis pathway are present in their genomes ( Madoui et al, 2009 ; Warrilow et al, 2014 ); in contrast, all known species in Peronosporales are sterol auxotrophic, with necessary genes for sterol synthesis being absent from their genomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Analysis of the C-5 Sterol Desaturase PcErg3 in the Sterol Auxotrophic Oomycete Pathogen Phytophthora capsici

Zhang

Xue

2022

Front. Microbiol.

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Although sterols play an important role in most eukaryotes, some oomycetes, including Phytophthora spp., have lost the sterol synthesis pathway. Nevertheless, the ERG3 gene encoding C-5 sterol desaturase in the sterol synthesis pathway is still present in the genomes of Phytophthora spp. Phytophthora capsici, a destructive pathogen with a broad range of plant hosts, poses a significant threat to the production of agriculture. This study focused on the ERG3 gene in P. capsici (PcERG3) and explored its function in this pathogen. It showed that the PcERG3 gene could be expressed in all tested developmental stages of P. capsici, with sporangium and mycelium displaying higher expression levels. A potential substrate of Erg3 (stellasterol) was used to treat the P. capsici wild-type strain and a PcERG3Δ transformant, and their sterol profiles were determined by GC-MS. The wild-type strain could convert stellasterol into the down-stream product while the transformant could not, indicating that PcErg3 retains the C-5 sterol desaturase activity. By comparing the biological characteristics of different strains, it was found that PcERG3 is not important for the development of P. capsici. The pathogenicity of the PcERG3Δ transformants and the wild-type strain was comparable, suggesting that PcERG3 is not necessary for the interaction between P. capsici and its hosts. Further investigations revealed that the PcERG3Δ transformants and the wild-type strain displayed a similar level of tolerance to external adversities such as unsuitable temperatures, high osmotic pressures, and intemperate pH, signifying that PcERG3 is not essential for P. capsici to cope with these environmental stresses.

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The mysterious route of sterols in oomycetes

Cited by 32 publications

References 38 publications

A Patched-Like Protein PsPTL Is Not Essential for the Growth and Response to Various Stresses in Phytophthora sojae

A Patched-Like Protein PsPTL Is Not Essential for the Growth and Response to Various Stresses in Phytophthora sojae

Uncovering the Role of Metabolism in Oomycete–Host Interactions Using Genome-Scale Metabolic Models

Functional Analysis of the C-5 Sterol Desaturase PcErg3 in the Sterol Auxotrophic Oomycete Pathogen Phytophthora capsici

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