atrB-Associated Fludioxonil Resistance in Botrytis fragariae Not Linked to Mutations in Transcription Factor mrr1

Abstract

Resistance to fludioxonil in Botrytis cinerea and B. fragariae was previously found to be linked to either overexpression of the drug efflux pump atrB activated by mutations in transcription factor mrr1 or to mutations in the osmoregulation gene os1. In the present study, isolates of B. cinerea, Botrytis group S, or B. fragariae collected from strawberry fields in the United States were resistant to fludioxonil with half-maximal effective concentration values ranging from 0.04 to 0.43 µg/ml for B. cinerea, 0.03 to 1.03 µg/ml for Botrytis group S, and 0.28 to 3.48 µg/ml for B. fragariae. Analyses of mrr1 sequences revealed various mutations linked to fludioxonil resistance in B. cinerea and Botrytis group S isolates. However, no mutations in mrr1 correlated with atrB overexpression-mediated resistance in B. fragariae isolates. Neither nucleotide variations in the 1,370-bp upstream region of atrB nor increased atrB copy numbers could explain the atrB overexpression in these B. fragariae isolates. Mutations in os1 conferred resistance to iprodione in B. cinerea and Botrytis group S isolates; none correlated with resistance to fludioxonil in B. fragariae. In contrast to European isolates, U.S. B. fragariae isolates contained a 3-bp insertion in the coding region of os1. These isolates were more sensitive to osmotic stress but it is unclear whether the insertion is responsible for this phenotype. Our findings suggest that atrB overexpression-associated fludioxonil resistance is an across-species mechanism of resistance to fludioxonil that can be induced by mutations in mrr1 and other, still-unknown mechanisms.