Three new pathogenicity genes in Leptosphaeria maculans identified by Agrobacterium-mediated insertional mutagenesis

Abstract

AbstractLeptosphaeria maculans causes blackleg disease of Brassica napus, but the genetic basis for how this filamentous fungus damages canola plants is not well understood. Here, non-pathogenic mutants were identified from an Agrobacterium-mediated insertional mutagenic screen, and three of the mutants were complemented to indicate their involvement in pathogenicity. The genes encode a putative flavoprotein, a HEAT repeat-containing protein and a homolog of the Spt8 component of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex. The little commonality between known pathogenicity genes of this species suggests that the quest for understanding how L. maculans causes disease from a gene perspective is still at an early stage.