MoMkk1 and MoAtg1 dichotomously regulating autophagy and pathogenicity through MoAtg9 phosphorylation in Magnaporthe oryzae .

Publisher: American Society for Microbiology Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101519231 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2150-7511 (Electronic) NLM ISO Abbreviation: mBio Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Washington, D.C. : American Society for Microbiology

Fungal Proteins*/genetics ; Fungal Proteins*/metabolism ; Magnaporthe* ; Ascomycota*; Phosphorylation ; Virulence ; Autophagy ; Phospholipids/metabolism ; Plant Diseases/microbiology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal ; Spores, Fungal/metabolism

Autophagy is a central biodegradation pathway critical in eliminating intracellular cargo to maintain cellular homeostasis and improve stress resistance. At the same time, the key component of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade regulating cell wall integrity signaling MoMkk1 has an essential role in the autophagy of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae . Still, the mechanism of how MoMkk1 regulates autophagy is unclear. Interestingly, we found that MoMkk1 regulates the autophagy protein MoAtg9 through phosphorylation. MoAtg9 is a transmembrane protein subjected to phosphorylation by autophagy-related protein kinase MoAtg1. Here, we provide evidence demonstrating that MoMkk1-dependent MoAtg9 phosphorylation is required for phospholipid translocation during isolation membrane stages of autophagosome formation, an autophagic process essential for the development and pathogenicity of the fungus. In contrast, MoAtg1-dependent phosphorylation of MoAtg9 negatively regulates this process, also impacting growth and pathogenicity. Our studies are the first to demonstrate that MoAtg9 is subject to MoMkk1 regulation through protein phosphorylation and that MoMkk1 and MoAtg1 dichotomously regulate autophagy to underlie the growth and pathogenicity of M. oryzae .IMPORTANCE Magnaporthe oryzae utilizes multiple signaling pathways to promote colonization of host plants. MoMkk1, a cell wall integrity signaling kinase, plays an essential role in autophagy governed by a highly conserved autophagy kinase MoAtg1-mediated pathway. How MoMkk1 regulates autophagy in coordination with MoAtg1 remains elusive. Here, we provide evidence that MoMkk1 phosphorylates MoAtg9 to positively regulate phospholipid translocation during the isolation membrane or smaller membrane structures stage of autophagosome formation. This is in contrast to the negative regulation of MoAtg9 by MoAtg1 for the same process. Intriguingly, MoMkk1-mediated MoAtg9 phosphorylation enhances the fungal infection of rice, whereas MoAtg1-dependant MoAtg9 phosphorylation significantly attenuates it. Taken together, we revealed a novel mechanism of autophagy and virulence regulation by demonstrating the dichotomous functions of MoMkk1 and MoAtg1 in the regulation of fungal autophagy and pathogenicity.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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R03 AI156254 United States AI NIAID NIH HHS; R21 AI168867 United States AI NIAID NIH HHS

Keywords: Magnaporthe oryzae; autophagy; cell wall integrity; phospholipid; protein phosphorylation

0 (Fungal Proteins)
0 (Phospholipids)

Pyricularia oryzae

Date Created: 20240319 Date Completed: 20240411 Latest Revision: 20240425

20240425

PMC11005334

10.1128/mbio.03344-23

38501872