Abstract | BACKGROUND: Cercospora leaf spot disease, caused by the fungus Cercospora beticola, is the most destructive foliar disease of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) worldwide. Cercosporin, a light-inducible toxin, is essential for necrosis of the leaf tissue and development of the typical leaf spots on sugar beet leaves. RESULTS: In this study we show that the O- methyltransferase gene CTB2 is essential for cercosporin production and pathogenicity in two C. beticola isolates. We established a transformation system for C. beticola protoplasts, disrupted CTB2, and transformed the Δctb2 strains as well as a wild type strain with the DsRed reporter gene. The Δctb2 strains had lost their pigmentation and toxin measurements demonstrated that the Δctb2 strains were defective in cercosporin production. Infection of sugar beets with the wild type and Δctb2 DsRed strains showed that the deletion strain was severely impaired in plant infection. Histological analysis revealed that the CTB2-deficient isolate cannot enter the leaf tissue through stomata like the wild type. CONCLUSIONS:
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Authors | Cornelia Staerkel, Marike J Boenisch, Cathrin Kröger, Jörg Bormann, Wilhelm Schäfer, Dietmar Stahl |
Journal | BMC plant biology
(BMC Plant Biol)
Vol. 13
Pg. 50
(Mar 22 2013)
ISSN: 1471-2229 [Electronic] England |
PMID | 23517289
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
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Topics |
- Ascomycota
(enzymology, genetics, pathogenicity)
- Beta vulgaris
(microbiology)
- Perylene
(analogs & derivatives, metabolism)
- Plant Diseases
(microbiology)
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