Abstract
The circadian clock of the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana modulates defense mechanisms impacting plant-pathogen interactions. Nevertheless, the effect of clock regulation on pathogenic traits has not been explored in detail. Moreover, molecular description of clocks in pathogenic fungi--or fungi in general other than the model ascomycete Neurospora crassa--has been neglected, leaving this type of question largely unaddressed. We sought to characterize, therefore, the circadian system of the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea to assess if such oscillatory machinery can modulate its virulence potential. Herein, we show the existence of a functional clock in B. cinerea, which shares similar components and circuitry with the Neurospora circadian system, although we found that its core negative clock element FREQUENCY (BcFRQ1) serves additional roles, suggesting extracircadian functions for this protein. We observe that the lesions produced by this necrotrophic fungus on Arabidopsis leaves are smaller when the interaction between these two organisms occurs at dawn. Remarkably, this effect does not depend solely on the plant clock, but instead largely relies on the pathogen circadian system. Genetic disruption of the B. cinerea oscillator by mutation, overexpression of BcFRQ1, or by suppression of its rhythmicity by constant light, abrogates circadian regulation of fungal virulence. By conducting experiments with out-of-phase light:dark cycles, we confirm that indeed, it is the fungal clock that plays the main role in defining the outcome of the Arabidopsis-Botrytis interaction, providing to our knowledge the first evidence of a microbial clock modulating pathogenic traits at specific times of the day.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
B. cinerea has a functional clock with components similar to Neurospora.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thaliana
Arabidopsis thalianat0 - Interactor
- B. cinerea
Botrytis cinereae0pathogen - Outcome
- functional clock in B. cinereae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“existence of a functional clock in B. cinerea, which shares similar components and circuitry with the Neurospora circadian system”
t0“Arabidopsis thaliana”
Claim · model-written summary
BcFRQ1 has additional roles beyond the core negative clock element.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianat0
- Interactor
- B. cinereaBotrytis cinereae1pathogent0
- Gene
- BcFRQ1e0
- Outcome
- additional rolese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“core negative clock element FREQUENCY (BcFRQ1) serves additional roles”
e1“existence of a functional clock in B. cinerea, which shares similar components and circuitry with the Neurospora circadian system”
t0“Arabidopsis thaliana”
Claim · model-written summary
Botrytis lesions on Arabidopsis leaves were smaller at dawn.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsise0
- Interactor
- Botrytis cinereaBotrytis cinereat0pathogen
- Outcome
- lesionse0
- Direction
- smallere0
- Setting
- at dawne0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“lesions produced by this necrotrophic fungus on Arabidopsis leaves are smaller when the interaction between these two organisms occurs at dawn”
t0“Botrytis cinerea regulates virulence”
Claim · model-written summary
Disrupting the B. cinerea oscillator eliminated circadian regulation of fungal virulence.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianat0
- Treatment
- Genetic disruption of the B. cinerea oscillatore0
- Interactor
- B. cinereaBotrytis cinereae0pathogen
- Gene
- BcFRQ1e0
- Outcome
- circadian regulation of fungal virulencee0
- Direction
- abrogatese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Genetic disruption of the B. cinerea oscillator by mutation, overexpression of BcFRQ1, or by suppression of its rhythmicity by constant light, abrogates circadian regulation of fungal virulence.”
t0“Arabidopsis thaliana”
Claim · model-written summary
Out-of-phase light dark experiments confirmed the fungal clock chiefly defined the interaction outcome.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsise0
- Outcome
- outcome of the Arabidopsis-Botrytis interactione0
- Qualifier
- fungal clocke0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it is the fungal clock that plays the main role in defining the outcome of the Arabidopsis-Botrytis interaction”
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