Loss of bcbrn1 and bcpks13 in Botrytis cinerea Not Only Blocks Melanization But Also Increases Vegetative Growth and Virulence
Open accessAbstract
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen that causes gray mold disease in a broad range of plants. Dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) melanin is a major component of the extracellular matrix of B. cinerea, but knowledge of the exact role of melanin biosynthesis in this pathogen is unclear. In this study, we characterize two genes in B. cinerea, bcpks13 and bcbrn1, encoding polyketide synthase and tetrahydroxynaphthalene (THN) reductases, respectively, and both have predicted roles in DHN melanin biosynthesis. The ∆bcpks13 and ∆bcbrn1 mutants show white and orange pigmentation, respectively, and the mutants are also deficient in conidiation in vitro but show enhanced growth rates and virulence on hosts. Moreover, the mutants display elevated acidification of the complete medium (CM), probably due to oxalic acid secretion and secretion of cell wall–degrading enzymes, and preferably utilize plant cell-wall components as carbon sources for mycelium growth in vitro. In contrast, overexpression of bcbrn1 (OE::bcbrn1 strain) results in attenuated hydrolytic enzyme secretion, acidification ability, and virulence. Taken together, these results indicate that bcpks13 and bcbrn1 participate in diverse cellular and developmental processes, such as melanization and conidiation in B. cinerea in vitro, but they negatively regulate the virulence of this pathogen.
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In Botrytis cinerea, deletion of the melanin biosynthesis genes bcbrn1 and bcpks13 not only abolished melanization but also enhanced the virulence of mutants on host pepper plants.
“In B. cinerea, deletion of the melanin biosynthesis genes bcbrn1 and bcpks13 not only abolished melanization but also enhanced the virulence of mutants on host pepper plants [72].”
From Fungal Melanin in Plant Pathogens: Complex Biosynthesis Pathways and Diverse Biological Functions (2025) · cites this paper as [72]
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- Kars, I., and van Kan, J. A. 2007. Extracellular enzymes and metabolites involved in pathogenesis of Botrytis. Pages 99-118 in: Botrytis: Biology, Pathology and Control. Y. Elad, B. Williamson, P. Tudzynski, and N. Delen, eds. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
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Fungal Melanin in Plant Pathogens: Complex Biosynthesis Pathways and Diverse Biological Functions
Jia, H., Liu, N., Zhang, L., Li, P., Meng, Y., Yuan, W., Li, H., Tantai, D., Qu, Q., Cao, Z., et al. (2025) · Plants · doi:10.3390/plants14142121 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Zhang, C., He, Y., Zhu, P., Chen, L., Wang, Y., Ni, B., & Xu, L.
- Affiliations
- East China Normal University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhu, Pinkuan
- Venue
- Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
- Publisher
- Scientific Societies
- Published
- 2015-10
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1091-1101
- ISSN
- 0894-0282 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-7706
- OpenAlex
- W2179646481
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 1.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Technische Universität Kaiserslautern
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31172008)
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (15YF1403300)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fungal Plant Pathogen Control
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant pathogens and resistance mechanisms
- Keywords
- Botrytis cinerea, polyketide synthase, melanization, conidiation, virulence, cell wall degrading enzymes, medium acidification, necrotrophic fungal pathogen, gray mold
- MeSH terms
- Capsicum, Fruit, Fungal Proteins, Melanins, Plant Diseases, Nicotiana, Virulence, Gene Expression, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Sequence Deletion, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Plant Leaves, Botrytis, Hyphae, Virulence Factors, Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors, Polyketide Synthases
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