Ruqiang Cui

β-1,4-endoglucanase (ENG) is a canonical effector protein secreted by the esophageal glands of plant-parasitic nematodes. Homology analysis identified a β-1,4-endoglucanase homolog in Hirschmanniella mucronata, designated as HmENG1. In situ hybridization demonstrated the specific localization of Hmeng1 transcripts within the esophageal glands of H. mucronata. Recombinant HmENG1 exhibited cellulase activity in vitro. In planta RNAi experiments confirmed that silencing Hmeng1 significantly reduced the infection capability of H. mucronata. In addition to its potential role in degrading plant cell walls, HmENG1 was found to interact with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (OsGAPDH) in yeast and plant systems. Furthermore, analysis of Osgapdh knockout mutants indicated that OsGAPDH is involved in rice resistance against H. mucronata. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that the absence of OsGAPDH disrupted carbohydrate metabolism and jasmonic acid-related pathways. These findings demonstrated that HmENG1 is a classic cell wall-degrading enzyme that may exhibit multifunctional roles during H. mucronata infection of rice.

Sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani is a primary yield-limiting disease in rice production. At present, jinggangmycin remains the most prevalently applied fungicide for managing sheath blight in China; however, the development of resistance to it has been documented. Fluindapyr is a novel succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor fungicide that has not yet been registered for use in China. To explore highly efficacious fungicides and facilitate resistance monitoring, the baseline sensitivity of fluindapyr against R. solani isolates was established and the control efficacy of combination of fluindapyr + jinggangmycin to control rice sheath blight in field trials was evaluated in this study. 103 isolates of R. solani were collected from Jiangxi province, China in 2022. The median effective concentration (EC50) values of fluindapyr ranged from 0.010 to 0.026 μg/mL, averaging 0.016 μg/mL, indicating that all isolates remained sensitive. Fluindapyr and jinggangmycin exhibited a synergistic effect, with the maximum synergy ratio of 2.70 at the mixing ratio of 1:9. In the two-year field trials, fluindapyr + jinggangmycin at 171 g/ha was the most effective treatment against rice sheath blight, with control efficacy of 89.46% and 91.44% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, superior to thifluzamide treatment as the commercial control. Additionally, compared to the control, all treatments (except jinggangmycin at 120 g/ha in 2024) significantly increased rice grain yield by 1.74-11.53% and 7.48-11.81% in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The greatest yield was observed in both years from the treatment of fluindapyr + jinggangmycin at 171 g/ha, followed by fluindapyr at 60 g/ha and thifluzamide at 72 g/ha, with no significant differences among these three treatments. These results indicate that fluindapyr has the potential to control rice sheath blight, providing a scientific basis for resistance monitoring and future application.

Protein kinase MoCK2 has been identified as a pivotal regulator in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, orchestrating critical biological processes including hyphal growth, conidiation, and host infection. Building upon our previous investigations into its interplay with cellular energy metabolism and polar regeneration during appressorium formation, this study systematically delineated the MoCK2 regulatory network through integrated proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses. Three key mechanistic insights emerged from this research. Firstly, while MoCK2 deficiency did not directly impair mitochondrial functionality, it disrupted intracellular vesicular trafficking systems, thereby constraining substrate availability for mitochondrial metabolism and ultimately leading to energy homeostasis defects. Secondly, absence of MoCK2 nucleolar localization in regulatory subunit deletion mutants substantially compromised ribosome biogenesis, creating a bottleneck in protein synthesis capacity that failed to meet cellular demands. Thirdly, phosphoregulation analysis demonstrated MoCK2’s multifaceted role as a signaling node, modulating critical developmental transitions through phosphorylation-dependent control of conidial germination, appressorial morphogenesis, and host penetration apparatus assembly. These findings established MoCK2 as a central coordinator linking organelle dynamics, translational regulation, and infection-related signaling cascades. This study provides a conceptual framework for future investigations into the functional characterization of MoCK2, while also offering methodological references for CK2 research across diverse biological systems.

Objective This study aims to explore the biological characteristics of Fusarium commune，clarify the resistance of different lotus germplasm resources to Fusarium commune，and screen the effective control agents under laboratory conditions，thus promote the development of lotus industry. Method The effects of different culture media，pH，and nitrogen and carbon sources on their growth were determined using the mycelial growth rate method.Indoor resistance analysis of 229 lotus germplasm resources was conducted by using indoor wounded inoculation，and the resistance of lotus germplasm was evaluated by the mean spot diameter method and cluster analysis.The virulence of six commonly used fungicides，including 450 g/L prochloraz，40% difenoconazole and 50% carbendazim，against Fusarium commune，was determined by growth rate method. Result Biological characterization shows that the pathogen grows most rapidly on oatmeal agar（OA），the most suitable nitrogen source is peptone，the most suitable carbon source is maltose，and the pH suitable for mycelial growth is 9.The average lesion diameter and cluster analysis divide the lotus germplasm into five categories，namely high resistance，resistance，medium resistance，susceptibility and high susceptibility.According to the classification standard of the average lesion diameter method，there were 56 high-resistance varieties，71 disease-resistant varieties，65 medium-resistant varieties，33 susceptible varieties and 4 high-susceptibility varieties，which are basically consistent with the results of cluster analysis.The selected germplasms cover the varieties of seed lotus，flower lotus，root lotus and wild lotus.Flower lotus and root lotus show no significant difference in resistance to lotus rhizome rot，while no significant difference is observed between the germplasm of wild lotus and seed lotus.Among them，the high-resistance germplasm of root lotus includes Yachengou and Xiaomiaoqianoulian；the wild lotus germplasms with high resistance include Puzheheibailian，Donggualian，Wenxihonglian，Siluokumu，Nangengyelian，Wuxilian，Jiangsuhongzexianyelian，etc..The high-resistance germplasm of seed lotus includes Ganlian Liushierhao，Changshun Yihao，Cunsanlian Yihao，Jinque，Baihuajianlian，Taikonglian Wushibahao，Cunsanlian Liushiwuhao，etc..The flower lotus germplasm with high-resistance includes Fenqinglian，Yitiansihai，Jinfenghuang，Qiuyang，Fenqianye，Peilizhixing，Jiaoxiangyi，Yidianhong，Baixuegongzhu，etc..The results of laboratory test show that 450 g/L prochloraz，40% difenoconazole，50% carbendazim and 325 g/L benzoazoxystrobin have a good inhibitory effect，with EC₅₀ values of 0.009，0.386，2.936 and 3.714 μg/mL，respectively. Conclusion In this study，the growth characteristics of Fusarium commune are revealed，and 56 germplasm resources with high resistance are screened，and 450 g/L prochloraz and 40% difenoconazole can be used as candidate agents for the prevention and control of lotus rot，which provides reference for the breeding of disease-resistant varieties and the prevention and control of the disease.

Fusarium commune is the main pathogen of lotus rhizome rot, which causes the wilt of many plants. Histone acetyltransferase plays a critical part in the growth and virulence of fungi. In the present study, we identified an FcElp3 in F. commune homologous to histone acetyltransferase Elp3. We further constructed a mutant strain of F. commune to determine the function of FcElp3 in fungal growth and pathogenicity. The results showed that the deletion of FcElp3 resulted in reduced mycelial growth and sporulation. Compared with the wild type, the Δ FcElp3 strain showed more tolerance to osmotic stress and cell wall stress responses but was highly sensitive to oxidative stress. The subcellular localization results indicated that FcElp3 was distributed in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. Western blotting showed that FcElp3 was important for acetylation of H3K14 and H4K8. RNA sequencing analysis showed significant transcriptional changes in the Δ FcElp3 mutant, with 3,098 genes upregulated and 5,770 genes downregulated. Peroxisome was the most significantly enriched metabolic pathway for downregulated genes. This led to a significant decrease in the expression of the core transcription factor Fcap1 involved in the oxidative stress response. Pathogenicity tests revealed that the Δ FcElp3 mutant's pathogenicity on lotus was significantly decreased. Together, these findings clearly demonstrated that FcElp3 was involved in fungal growth, development, stress response, and pathogenicity via the direct regulation of multiple target genes.

Background: Previous studies have shown that protein kinase MoKin1 played an important role in the growth, conidiation, germination and pathogenicity in rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. ΔMokin1 mutant showed significant phenotypic defects and significantly reduced pathogenicity. However, the internal mechanism of how MoKin1 affected the development of physiology and biochemistry remained unclear in M. oryzae. Result: This study adopted a multi-omics approach to comprehensively analyze MoKin1 function, and the results showed that MoKin1 affected the cellular response to endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress). Proteomic analysis revealed that the downregulated proteins in ΔMokin1 mutant were enriched mainly in the response to ER stress triggered by the unfolded protein. Loss of MoKin1 prevented the ER stress signal from reaching the nucleus. Therefore, the phosphorylation of various proteins regulating the transcription of ER stress-related genes and mRNA translation was significantly downregulated. The insensitivity to ER stress led to metabolic disorders, resulting in a significant shortage of carbohydrates and a low energy supply, which also resulted in severe phenotypic defects in ΔMokin1 mutant. Analysis of MoKin1-interacting proteins indicated that MoKin1 really took participate in the response to ER stress. Conclusion: Our results showed the important role of protein kinase MoKin1 in regulating cellular response to ER stress, providing a new research direction to reveal the mechanism of MoKin1 affecting pathogenic formation, and to provide theoretical support for the new biological target sites searching and bio-pesticides developing.

Objective Lotus rhizome rot caused by Fusarium commune seriously affects the production of lotus in China.The polygalacturonase gene Fcpg1 in the pathogen of lotus spoilage was identified，and its role in growth，development and pathogenicity was analyzed，which provided a basis for further research on the pathogenic mechanism of F. commune and the prevention and control of the disease. Method BLASTP was used to find Fcpg1 homologous proteins in the whole genome data of F. commune and the amino acid sequence of Fcpg1 was analyzed using online software ExPASy.The Fcpg1 knockout mutant ΔFcpg1 and the complementation strain ΔFcpg1-Com were obtained.Colony morphology，growth rate，spore production，and pathogenicity were measured for the wild-type strain FCN23，the mutant ΔFcpg1，and the complementation strain ΔFcpg1-Com. Result The Fcpg1 gene encoded 388 amino acids with a molecular weight of 40.354 ku.The molecular formula was C₁₇₅₆H₂₇₇₅N₄₈₉O₅₇₇S₁₂，the isoelectric point was 6.57 and an aliphatic index was 79.9.Fcpg1 was a stable，water-soluble exocytotic protein，mainly localized in the extracellular.Its signal peptide shear site was between amino acids 16-17.The Fcpg1 protein had high homology to the polygalacturonase protein sequence of F.oxysporum.There were no significant differences in colony morphology，vegetative growth，and spore production in the ΔFcpg1 mutant compared with the wild-type strain FCN23 and the complementation strain ΔFcpg1-Com，but the pathogenicity of the mutant ΔFcpg1 was significantly reduced. Conclusion Fcpg1 is a typical polygalacturonase protein involved in the regulation of the pathogenicity of lotus rhizome rot.

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