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Orotate phosphoribosyl transferase MoPyr5 is involved in uridine 5′-phosphate synthesis and pathogenesis of Magnaporthe oryzae

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Abstract

Orotate phosphoribosyl transferase (OPRTase) plays an important role in de novo and salvage pathways of nucleotide synthesis and is widely used as a screening marker in genetic transformation. However, the function of OPRTase in plant pathogens remains unclear. In this study, we characterized an ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ura5, the OPRTase MoPyr5, from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Targeted gene disruption revealed that MoPyr5 is required for mycelial growth, appressorial turgor pressure and penetration into plant tissues, invasive hyphal growth, and pathogenicity. Interestingly, the ∆Mopyr5 mutant is also involved in mycelial surface hydrophobicity. Exogenous uridine 5′-phosphate (UMP) restored vegetative growth and rescued the defect in pathogenicity on detached barley and rice leaf sheath. Collectively, our results show that MoPyr5 is an OPRTase for UMP biosynthesis in M. oryzae and indicate that UTP biosynthesis is closely linked with vegetative growth, cell wall integrity, and pathogenicity of fungus. Our results also suggest that UMP biosynthesis would be a good target for the development of novel fungicides against M. oryzae.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31470248, XZ), Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 31271998, ZZ), and the especially appointed professorship (Jiangsu, China).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University and Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Zhongqiang Qi, Muxing Liu, Yanhan Dong, Jie Yang, Haifeng Zhang, Xiaobo Zheng & Zhengguang Zhang

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  1. Zhongqiang Qi
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  2. Muxing Liu
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Qi, Z., Liu, M., Dong, Y. et al. Orotate phosphoribosyl transferase MoPyr5 is involved in uridine 5′-phosphate synthesis and pathogenesis of Magnaporthe oryzae . Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 3655–3666 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7323-0

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