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Cited by 39Fungal and yeast genetics researchMicrobial Natural Products and BiosynthesisMicrobial Metabolism and Applications

Compartmentalization of Melanin Biosynthetic Enzymes Contributes to Self-Defense against Intermediate Compound Scytalone in Botrytis cinerea

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Chen, Xue, Zhu, Chuanxi, Na, Yantao, Ren, Dandan, Zhang, Chenghua, He, Yifan, Wang, Yiwen, Xiang, Sheng +4 more·2021·mBio
DOI 10.1128/mbio.00007-21PMC PMC8092192
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Abstract

The devastating gray mold pathogen Botrytis cinerea propagates via melanized conidia and sclerotia. This study reveals that the sclerotial germination of B. cinerea is differentially affected by different enzymes in the melanin synthesis pathway.

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  • Compartmentalization of melanin biosynthetic intermediates serves to prevent autotoxicity, thereby ensuring normal sclerotial development.

    “The compartmentalization of melanin biosynthetic intermediates serves to prevent autotoxicity, thereby ensuring normal sclerotial development [31].”

    From Fungal Melanin in Plant Pathogens: Complex Biosynthesis Pathways and Diverse Biological Functions (2025) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Discussion describes compartmentalized melanin synthesis and proposes that scytalone is delivered outside the cell to avoid its toxic effects. The Results link scytalone accumulation to impaired sclerotial germination and sporulation, but do not establish that compartmentalization ensures normal sclerotial development more broadly. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Excessive accumulation of the intermediate scytalone is toxic to B. cinerea, inhibiting sclerotial and conidial germination.

    “Excessive accumulation of the intermediate scytalone is toxic to B. cinerea, inhibiting sclerotial and conidial germination [31].”

    From Fungal Melanin in Plant Pathogens: Complex Biosynthesis Pathways and Diverse Biological Functions (2025) · cites this paper as [31]

  • Knocking out melanin synthesis genes leads to the accumulation of antimicrobial intermediate metabolites, which may impact fungal development.

    “Knocking out melanin synthesis genes leads to the accumulation of antimicrobial intermediate metabolites, which may impact fungal development [31].”

    From Fungal Melanin in Plant Pathogens: Complex Biosynthesis Pathways and Diverse Biological Functions (2025) · cites this paper as [31]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chen, X., Zhu, C., Na, Y., Ren, D., Zhang, C., He, Y., Wang, Y., Xiang, S., Ren, W., Jiang, Y., Xu, L., & Zhu, P.
Affiliations
  • School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
  • East China Normal University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Xu, Ling
  • Zhu, Pinkuan
ORCID
Venue
mBio
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Published
2021-04-27
Volume
12
Issue
2
ISSN
2150-7511 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1128/mbio.00007-21
PMC
PMC8092192
OpenAlex
W3137233961
Cited by
39
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8
FWCI
2.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • mBio (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0400105)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (32061133006, 31571902, 31972121)
  • Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (18391901400)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Microbial Metabolism and Applications
Keywords
Botrytis cinerea, melanogenesis, scytalone, compartmentalization, secondary metabolite production, filamentous fungi, fungal cell wall, enzyme translocation
MeSH terms
Fungal Proteins, Melanins, Mutation, Naphthols, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Botrytis, Biosynthetic Pathways, Secondary Metabolism

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