Sensitivity of Globisporangium ultimum to the fungicide metalaxyl is enhanced by the infection with a toti-like mycovirus

Abstract

In recent years, numerous oomycete mycoviruses have been discovered; however, very few studies have focused on their effects on the host oomycete phenotype. In this study, we investigated the impact of toti-like Pythium ultimum RNA virus 2 (PuRV2) infection on the phytopathogenic soil-borne oomycete Globisporangium ultimum, which serves as a model species for Globisporangium and Pythium, specifically the UOP226 isolate in Japan. We generated a PuRV2-free isogenic line through hyphal tip isolation using high-temperature culture and subsequently compared the phenotypic characteristics and gene expression profiles of UOP226 and the PuRV2-free isogenic line. Our findings revealed that the metalaxyl sensitivity of UOP226 was greater than that of the PuRV2-free isogenic line, whereas the mycelial growth rate and colony morphology remained unchanged in the absence of the fungicide. Furthermore, transcriptome analyses using RNA-seq revealed significant downregulation of ABC-type transporter genes, which are involved in fungicide sensitivity, in UOP226. Our results suggest that PuRV2 infection influences the ecology of G. ultimum in agricultural ecosystems where metalaxyl is applied.