The Dynamin-Like GTPase FgSey1 Plays a Critical Role in Fungal Development and Virulence in Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is a major plant pathogen that causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheats worldwide. In addition to reducing the plant yield, F. graminearum infection of wheats also results in the production of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxins, which are harmful to humans and animals and therefore cause great economic losses through pollution of food products and animal feed. At present, effective strategies for controlling FHB are not available. Therefore, understanding the regulation mechanisms of fungal development, pathogenesis, and DON biosynthesis is important for the development of effective control strategies of this disease. In this study, we demonstrated that a dynamin-like GTPase protein Sey1/atlastin homologue, FgSey1, is required for vegetative growth, DON production, and pathogenicity in F. graminearum. Our results provide novel information on critical roles of FgSey1 in fungal pathogenicity; therefore, FgSey1 could be a potential target for effective control of the disease caused by F. graminearum. ABSTRACT Fusarium graminearum, the main pathogenic fungus causing Fusarium head blight (FHB), produces deoxynivalenol (DON), a key virulence factor, which is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Sey1/atlastin, a dynamin-like GTPase protein, is known to be required for homotypic fusion of ER membranes, but the functions of this protein are unknown in pathogenic fungi. Here, we characterized Sey1/atlastin homologue FgSey1 in F. graminearum. Like Sey1/atlastin, FgSey1 is located in the ER. The FgSEY1 deletion mutant exhibited significantly reduced vegetative growth, asexual development, DON biosynthesis, and virulence. Moreover, the ΔFgsey1 mutant was impaired in the formation of normal lipid droplets (LDs) and toxisomes, both of which participate in DON biosynthesis. The GTPase, helix bundle (HB), transmembrane segment (TM), and cytosolic tail (CT) domains of FgSey1 are essential for its function, but only the TM domain is responsible for its localization. Furthermore, the mutants FgSey1K63A and FgSey1T87A lacked GTPase activity and failed to rescue the defects of the ΔFgsey1 mutant. Collectively, our data suggest that the dynamin-like GTPase protein FgSey1 affects the generation of LDs and toxisomes and is required for DON biosynthesis and pathogenesis in F. graminearum. IMPORTANCE Fusarium graminearum is a major plant pathogen that causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheats worldwide. In addition to reducing the plant yield, F. graminearum infection of wheats also results in the production of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxins, which are harmful to humans and animals and therefore cause great economic losses through pollution of food products and animal feed. At present, effective strategies for controlling FHB are not available. Therefore, understanding the regulation mechanisms of fungal development, pathogenesis, and DON biosynthesis is important for the development of effective control strategies of this disease. In this study, we demonstrated that a dynamin-like GTPase protein Sey1/atlastin homologue, FgSey1, is required for vegetative growth, DON production, and pathogenicity in F. graminearum. Our results provide novel information on critical roles of FgSey1 in fungal pathogenicity; therefore, FgSey1 could be a potential target for effective control of the disease caused by F. graminearum.