Proteome of the fungus Phoma macdonaldii, the causal agent of black stem of sunflower

Abstract

Phoma macdonaldii causes black stem of sunflower, which severely affects sunflower yield and quality. There is currently little molecular information available for this pathogenic fungus. In this study, a global proteomic analysis of P. macdonaldii was performed to determine the biological characteristics and pathogenicity of this pathogen. A total of 1498 proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS in all biological replicates. Among the identified proteins, 1420 proteins were classified into the three main GO categories (biological process, cellular component, and molecular function) while 806 proteins were annotated into the five major KEGG database (metabolism, genetic information processing, environmental information processing, cellular processes, and organismal systems). The regulated expression levels of eight genes encoding selected identified proteins were investigated to assess their potential effects on fungal development and pathogenesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize the proteome of the necrotrophic fungus P. macdonaldii. The presented results provide novel insights into the development and pathogenesis of P. macdonaldii and possibly other Phoma species. SignificanceBlack stem of sunflower is a devastating disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Phoma macdonaldii. Relatively little is known regarding the molecular characteristics of this pathogen, and no proteomic investigation has been reported. Thus, we conducted a global proteomic analysis of P. macdonaldii. Many proteins were found to be differentially regulated during fungal development and pathogenesis, suggesting they may be important for these two processes. This is the first proteomic study of P. macdonaldii, and the data presented herein will be useful for elucidating the molecular characteristics of this fungus as well as other Phoma species.