Functional Understanding of Smut Biology

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 4660

Special Issue Editors

Department of Biology, Program on Disease Evolution, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Interests: host/pathogen interactions; smut fungi; evolution of disease; signal transduction; fungal dimorphism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Matthias-Schleiden Institut/Genetik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
Interests: Sporisorium reilianum; Ustilago maydis; control of host specificity; control of symptom specificity; control of mitochondrial inheritance; genome comparison; transcriptome analysis; fluorescence microscopy; gene functional analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Forensic Science, Master of Science Forensic Science, and Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Programs, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
Interests: Ustilago maydis; Sporisorium reilianum; fungal hybridization and pathogenesis; teliospore development and germination; transcriptome analysis; natural antisense transcripts and lncRNAs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smut fungi are an exciting group of organisms. They are omnipresent, they endanger our most valuable food crops, they are amenable to genetic and molecular analyses, they are diverse, they are highly adapted to their host plants, and they still harbor many mysteries that have not yet been uncovered. The many exciting discoveries made by the smut fungal research community in recent years have greatly expanded our mechanistic understanding of biological context in smut fungi and beyond. However, we recognize that, in many ways, these discoveries have generated new questions and paved the way for further scientific enlightenment through the application of novel approaches and by testing novel hypotheses.

By launching the call for this new Special Issue on “Functional Understanding of Smut Biology”, we wish to provide a platform for making high-quality smut fungal research visible, to accumulate smut-specific knowledge, to increase our mechanistic understanding of smut biology, and to motivate more research groups to work with these versatile organisms. We encourage submissions that employ rigorous molecular biological, cellular, biochemical, or phylogenetic and population genetic/genomic approaches to further inform our basic understanding of this important group of fungi.

This Special Issue follows a small series of highly successful Special Issues dedicated to smuts. The first Special Issue entitled “Smut Fungi” and its sequel “Smuts 2.0” hosted together more than 30 quality articles that received excellent metrics. They also increased the visibility and demonstrated the breadth of smut fungal research. The organisms covered included well-developed model fungi such as Ustilago maydis, Ustilago hordei, and Sporisorium reilianum, as well as species either less-well-known or less facile in genetic manipulation, such as Microbotryum violaceum, Tilletia indica, Thecaphora thlaspeos, Sporisorium scitamineum, and Ustilago esculenta. Together, these studies provided an increase in basic science understanding, ranging from the genetic and biochemical underpinnings of smut biology to biotechnological/industrial applications of individual smut species and strains, and finally, to population genetics of smut species using molecular markers.

Building on this solid foundation, we now wish to launch a new call for high-quality research that aims at discovering functional understanding of smut biology and leads to the elucidation of some of the mysteries that these exciting organisms have hidden for too many years.

So, go out into nature, go into your lab, carry out your exciting research, and submit your manuscripts to this Special Issue. Together, we will make an impact. Be part of it.

Prof. Dr. Michael H. Perlin
Prof. Dr. Jan Schirawski
Dr. Barry J. Saville
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smut fungi
  • gene functional analysis
  • virulence
  • resistance
  • defense genes
  • molecular analysis

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 10042 KiB  
Article
The Monothiol Glutaredoxin Grx4 Influences Iron Homeostasis and Virulence in Ustilago maydis
by Sean W. McCotter, Matthias Kretschmer, Christopher W. J. Lee, Kai Heimel and James W. Kronstad
J. Fungi 2023, 9(11), 1112; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9111112 - 17 Nov 2023
Viewed by 949
Abstract
The corn smut fungus, Ustilago maydis, is an excellent model for studying biotrophic plant-pathogen interactions, including nutritional adaptation to the host environment. Iron acquisition during host colonization is a key aspect of microbial pathogenesis yet less is known about this process for [...] Read more.
The corn smut fungus, Ustilago maydis, is an excellent model for studying biotrophic plant-pathogen interactions, including nutritional adaptation to the host environment. Iron acquisition during host colonization is a key aspect of microbial pathogenesis yet less is known about this process for fungal pathogens of plants. Monothiol glutaredoxins are central regulators of key cellular functions in fungi, including iron homeostasis, cell wall integrity, and redox status via interactions with transcription factors, iron-sulfur clusters, and glutathione. In this study, the roles of the monothiol glutaredoxin Grx4 in the biology of U. maydis were investigated by constructing strains expressing a conditional allele of grx4 under the control of the arabinose-inducible, glucose-repressible promoter Pcrg1. The use of conditional expression was necessary because Grx4 appeared to be essential for U. maydis. Transcriptome and genetic analyses with strains depleted in Grx4 revealed that the protein participates in the regulation of iron acquisition functions and is necessary for the ability of U. maydis to cause disease on maize seedlings. Taken together, this study supports the growing appreciation of monothiol glutaredoxins as key regulators of virulence-related phenotypes in pathogenic fungi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Understanding of Smut Biology)
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26 pages, 6648 KiB  
Article
Global Gene Expression of Post-Senescent Telomerase-Negative ter1Δ Strain of Ustilago maydis
by Juan Antonio Sanpedro-Luna, Leticia Vega-Alvarado, Candelario Vázquez-Cruz and Patricia Sánchez-Alonso
J. Fungi 2023, 9(9), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9090896 - 31 Aug 2023
Viewed by 883
Abstract
We analyzed the global expression patterns of telomerase-negative mutants from haploid cells of Ustilago maydis to identify the gene network required for cell survival in the absence of telomerase. Mutations in either of the telomerase core subunits (trt1 and ter1) of [...] Read more.
We analyzed the global expression patterns of telomerase-negative mutants from haploid cells of Ustilago maydis to identify the gene network required for cell survival in the absence of telomerase. Mutations in either of the telomerase core subunits (trt1 and ter1) of the dimorphic fungus U. maydis cause deficiencies in teliospore formation. We report the global transcriptome analysis of two ter1Δ survivor strains of U. maydis, revealing the deregulation of telomerase-deleted responses (TDR) genes, such as DNA-damage response, stress response, cell cycle, subtelomeric, and proximal telomere genes. Other differentially expressed genes (DEGs) found in the ter1Δ survivor strains were related to pathogenic lifestyle factors, plant–pathogen crosstalk, iron uptake, meiosis, and melanin synthesis. The two ter1Δ survivors were phenotypically comparable, yet DEGs were identified when comparing these strains. Our findings suggest that teliospore formation in U. maydis is controlled by key pathogenic lifestyle and meiosis genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Understanding of Smut Biology)
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14 pages, 4199 KiB  
Article
Engineering and Implementation of Synthetic Molecular Tools in the Basidiomycete Fungus Ustilago maydis
by Nicole Heucken, Kun Tang, Lisa Hüsemann, Natascha Heßler, Kira Müntjes, Michael Feldbrügge, Vera Göhre and Matias D. Zurbriggen
J. Fungi 2023, 9(4), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9040480 - 17 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1363
Abstract
The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis is a well-characterized model organism for studying pathogen–host interactions and of great interest for a broad spectrum of biotechnological applications. To facilitate research and enable applications, in this study, three luminescence-based and one enzymatic quantitative reporter were implemented and [...] Read more.
The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis is a well-characterized model organism for studying pathogen–host interactions and of great interest for a broad spectrum of biotechnological applications. To facilitate research and enable applications, in this study, three luminescence-based and one enzymatic quantitative reporter were implemented and characterized. Several dual-reporter constructs were generated for ratiometric normalization that can be used as a fast-screening platform for reporter gene expression, applicable to in vitro and in vivo detection. Furthermore, synthetic bidirectional promoters that enable bicisitronic expression for gene expression studies and engineering strategies were constructed and implemented. These noninvasive, quantitative reporters and expression tools will significantly widen the application range of biotechnology in U. maydis and enable the in planta detection of fungal infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Understanding of Smut Biology)
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Review

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11 pages, 723 KiB  
Review
Manipulation of Auxin Signaling by Smut Fungi during Plant Colonization
by Nithya Nagarajan, Mamoona Khan and Armin Djamei
J. Fungi 2023, 9(12), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121184 - 11 Dec 2023
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Abstract
A common feature of many plant-colonizing organisms is the exploitation of plant signaling and developmental pathways to successfully establish and proliferate in their hosts. Auxins are central plant growth hormones, and their signaling is heavily interlinked with plant development and immunity responses. Smuts, [...] Read more.
A common feature of many plant-colonizing organisms is the exploitation of plant signaling and developmental pathways to successfully establish and proliferate in their hosts. Auxins are central plant growth hormones, and their signaling is heavily interlinked with plant development and immunity responses. Smuts, as one of the largest groups in basidiomycetes, are biotrophic specialists that successfully manipulate their host plants and cause fascinating phenotypes in so far largely enigmatic ways. This review gives an overview of the growing understanding of how and why smut fungi target the central and conserved auxin growth signaling pathways in plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Understanding of Smut Biology)
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