Skip to main content

Identification of Fungicide Targets in Pathogenic Fungi

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Physiology and Genetics

Part of the book series: The Mycota ((MYCOTA,volume 15))

Abstract

The rapid emergence of fungicide resistance has brought a strong demand for plant protectants with a new mode of action. One of the challenges for modern plant pathology research is the identification of genes and gene products essential for the establishment of pathogenic interactions between host and pathogen. Genome-wide technologies, such as transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics represent a new opportunity to identify such targets in phytopathogenic fungi. This chapter reviews genome-wide approaches that have emerged in the post-genomics era, e.g. comparative genomics and gene expression profiling experiments such as microarray-based transcriptional profiling, serial analysis of gene expression, and massively parallel signature sequencing. It also discusses prospects for exploiting these modern technologies for the development of plant protectants and system biology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akins RA (2005) An update on antifungal targets and mechanisms of resistance in Candida albicans. Med Mycol 43:285–318

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anke T, Steglich W (1999) Strobilurins and oudemansins. In: Grabley S, Thiericke R (eds) Drug discovery from nature. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 320–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Asif AR, Oellerich M, Amstrong VW, Riemenschneider B, Monod M, Reichard U (2006) Proteome of conidial surface associated proteins of Aspergillus fumigatus reflecting potential vaccine candidates and allergens. J Proteome Res 5:954–962

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barker KS, Rogers PD (2005) Application of deoxyribonucleic acid microarray analysis to the study of azole antifungal resistance in Candida albicans. Methods Mol Med 118:45–56

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Becker WF, von Jagow G, Anke T, Steglich W (1981) Oudemansin, strobilurin A, strobilurin B and myxothiazol: New inhibitors of the bc1 segment of the respiratory chain with a E-ß-methoxyacrylate system as common structural element. FEBS Lett 132:329–333

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boddu J, Cho S, Kruger WM, Muehlbauer GJ (2006) Transcriptome analysis of the barley–Fusarium graminearum interaction. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 19:407–417

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Both M, Eckert SE, Csukai M, Müller E, Dimopoulos G, Spanu PD (2005) Transcript profiles of Blumeria graminis development during infection reveal a cluster of genes that are potential virulence determinants. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 18:125–133

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breakspear A, Momany M (2007) The first fifty microarray studies in filamentous fungi. Microbiology 153:7–15

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brenner S, Johnson M, Bridgham J, Golda G, Lloyd DH, Johnson D, Luo S, McCurdy S, Foy M, Ewan M, Roth R, George D, Eletr S, Albrecht G, Vermaas E, Williams SR, Moon K, Burcham T, Pallas M, DuBridge RB, Kirchner J, Fearon K, Mao J, Corcoran Ka (2000) Gene expression analysis by massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) on microbead arrays. Nat Biotechnol 18:630–634

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bruneau JM, Magnin T, Tagat E, Legrand R, Bernard M, Diaquin M, Fudali C, Latgé JP (2001) Proteome analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus identifies glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol-anchored proteins associated to the cell wall biosynthesis. Electrophoresis 22:2812–2823

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cao YY, Cao YB, Xu Z, Ying K, Li Y, Xie Y, Zhu ZY, Chen WS, Jiang YY (2005) cDNA microarray analysis of differential gene expression in Candida albicans biofilm exposed to farnesol. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 49:584–589

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chabane S, Sarfati J, Ibrahim-Granet O, Du C, Schmidt C, Mouyna I, Prevost MC, Calderone R, Latgé JP (2006) Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored Ecm33p influences conidial cell wall biosynthesis in Aspergillus fumigatus. Appl Environ Biol 72:3259–3267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra J, Kuhn DM, Mukherjee PK, Hoyer LL, McCormick T, Ghannoum MA (2001) Biofilm formation by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans: development, architecture, and drug resistance. J Bacteriol 183:5385–5394

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer KL, Gerrald QD, Nichols CB, Price MS, Alspaugh JA (2006) Transcription factor Nrg1 mediates capsule formation, stress response, and pathogenesis in Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryot Cell 5:1147–1156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • da Silva Ferreira ME, Malavazi I, Savoldi M, Brakhage AA, Goldman MH, Kim HS, Nierman WC, Goldman GH (2006) Transcriptome analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus exposed to voriconazole. Curr Genet 50:32–44

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Backer MD, Ilyina T, Ma XJ, Vandoninck S, Luyten WH, Vanden Bossche H (2001) Genomic profiling of the response of Candida albicans to itraconazole treatment using a DNA microarray. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 45:1660–1670

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Debieu D, Bach J, Hugon M, Malosse C, Leroux P (2001) The hydroxyanilide fenhexamid, a new sterol biosynthesis inhibitor fungicide efficient against the plant pathogenic fungus Botryotinia fuckeliana (Botrytis cinerea). Pest Manag Sci 57:1060–1067

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeRisi JL, Iyer VR, Brown PO (1997) Exploring the metabolic and genetic control of gene expression on a genomic scale. Science 278:680–686

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Donofrio NM, Oh Y, Lundy R, Pan H, Brown DE, Jeong JS, Coughlan S, Mitchell TK, Dean RA (2006) Global gene expression during nitrogen starvation in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Fungal Genet Biol 43:605–617

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gioti A, Simon A, Le Pêcheur P, Giraud C, Pradier JM, Viaud M, Levis C (2006) Expression profiling of Botrytis cinerea genes identifies three patterns of up-regulation in planta and an FKBP12 protein affecting pathogenicity. J Mol Biol 358:372–386 Erratum in: J Mol Biol 364:550

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gowda M, Venu RC, Raghupathy MB, Nobuta K, Li H, Wing R, Stahlberg E, Couglan S, Haudenschild CD, Dean R, Nahm BH, Meyers BC, Wang GL (2006) Deep and comparative analysis of the mycelium and appressorium transcriptomes of Magnaporthe grisea using MPSS, RL-SAGE, and oligoarray methods. BMC Genomics 8:310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosse C, Heinekamp T, Kniemeyer O, Gehrke A, Brakhage AA (2008) Protein kinase A regulates growth, sporulation, and pigment formation in Aspergillus fumigatus. Appl Environ Microbiol 74:4923–4933

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Güldener U, Seong KY, Boddu J, Cho S, Trail F, Xu JR, Adam G, Mewes HW, Muehlbauer GJ, Kistler HC (2006) Development of a Fusarium graminearum Affymetrix GeneChip for profiling fungal gene expression in vitro and in planta. Fungal Genet Biol 43:316–325

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heller MJ (2002) DNA microarray technology: devices, systems, and applications. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 4:129–153

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howard RJ, Ferrari MA (1989) Role of melanin in appressorium function. Exp Mycol 13:403–418

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu G, Steen BR, Lian T, Sham AP, Tam N, Tangen KL, Kronstad JW (2007) Transcriptional regulation by protein kinase A in Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS Pathog 3:e42

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang L, Hocking-Murray D, Bahrami AK, Andersson M, Rine J, Sil A (2003) Identifying phase-specific genes in the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum using a genomic shotgun microarray. Mol Biol Cell 14:2314–2326

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Irie T, Matsumura H, Terauchi R, Saitoh H (2003) Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) of Magnaporthe grisea: genes involved in appressorium formation. Mol Genet Genomics 270:181–189

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kadotani N, Nakayashiki H, Tosa Y, Mayama S (2003) RNA silencing in the phytopathogenic fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 16:769–776

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim Y, Nandakumar MP, Marten MR (2008) The state of proteome profiling in the fungal genus Aspergillus. Brief Funct Genomics Proteomics 7:87–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larraya LM, Boyce KJ, So A, Steen BR, Jones S, Marra M, Kronstad JW (2005) Serial analysis of gene expression reveals conserved links between protein kinase A, ribosome biogenesis, and phosphate metabolism in Ustilago maydis. Eukaryot Cell 4:2029–2043

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liebmann B, Müller M, Braun A, Brakhage AA (2004) The cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase a network regulates development and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus. Infect Immun 72:5193–5203

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Köller W (1992) Antifungal agents with target sites in sterol functions and biosynthesis. In: Köller W (ed) Target sites of fungicide action CRC, Boca Raton, pp 119–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Gustafson G, Skamnioti P, Baloch R, Gurr S (2008) Host perception and signal transduction studies in wild-type Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei and a quinoxyfen-resistant mutant implicate quinoxyfen in the inhibition of serine esterase activity. Pest Manag Sci 64:544–555

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lees ND, Bard M, Kirsch DR (1999) Biochemistry and molecular biology of sterol synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 34:33–47

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lian T, Simmer MI, D'Souza CA, Steen BR, Zuyderduyn SD, Jones SJ, Marra MA, Kronstad JW (2005) Iron-regulated transcription and capsule formation in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Mol Microbiol 55:1452–1472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liebmann B, Müller M, Braun A, Brakhage AA (2004) The cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase a network regulates development and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus. Infect Immun 72:5193–203

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linksda Silva Ferreira ME, Malavazi I, Savoldi M, Brakhage AA, Goldman MH, Kim HS, Nierman WC, Goldman GH (2006) Transcriptome analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus exposed to voriconazole. Curr Genet 50:32–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran G, Stokes C, Thewes S, Hube B, Coleman DC, Sullivan D (2004) Comparative genomics using Candida albicans DNA microarrays reveals absence and divergence of virulence-associated genes in Candida dubliniensis. Microbiology 150:3363–3382

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mouyna I, Fontaine T, Vai M, Monod M, Fonzi WA, Diaquin M, Popolo L, Hartland RP, Latgé JP (2000) Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glucanosyltransferases play an active role in the biosynthesis of the fungal cell wall. J Biol Chem 275:14882–14889

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moyrand F, Janbon G (2004) UGD1, encoding the Cryptococcus neoformans UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, is essential for growth at 37 degrees C and for capsule biosynthesis. Eukaryot Cell 3:1601–1608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakasako M, Motoyama T, Kurahashi Y, Yamaguchi I (1998) Cryogenic X-ray crystal structure analysis for the complex of scytalone dehydratase of a rice blast fungus and its tight-binding inhibitor, carpropamid: the structural basis of tight-binding inhibition. Biochemistry 37:9931–9939

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen QB, Kadotani N, Kasahara S, Tosa Y, Mayama S, Nakayashiki H (2008) Systematic functional analysis of calcium-signalling proteins in the genome of the rice-blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, using a high-throughput RNA-silencing system. Mol Microbiol 68:1348–1365

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen VQ, Sil A (2008) Temperature-induced switch to the pathogenic yeast form of Histoplasma capsulatum requires Ryp1, a conserved transcriptional regulator. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:4880–4885

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Odenbach D, Breth B, Thines E, Weber RWS, Anke H, Foster AJ (2007) The transcription factor Con7p is a central regulator of infection-related morphogenesis in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Mol Microbiol 64:293–307

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Odenbach D, Thines E, Anke H, Foster AJ (2009) The Magnaporthe grisea class VII chitin synthase is required for normal appressorial development and function. Mol Plant Pathol 10:81–94

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oh Y, Donofrio N, Pan H, Coughlan S, Brown DE, Meng S, Mitchell T, Dean RA (2008) Transcriptome analysis reveals new insight into appressorium formation and function in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.Genome Biol 9:R85

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramage G, Wickes BL, Lopez-Ribot JL (2001) Biofilms of Candida albicans and their associated resistance to antifungal agents. Am Clin Lab 20:42–44

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramage G, Saville SP, Wickes BL, López-Ribot JL (2002) Inhibition of Candida albicans biofilm formation by farnesol, a quorum-sensing molecule. Appl Environ Microbiol 68:5459–5463

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers PD, Barker KS (2002) Evaluation of differential gene expression in fluconazole-susceptible and -resistant isolates of Candida albicans by cDNA microarray analysis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46:3412–3417

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seong KY, Zhao X, Xu JR, Güldener U, Kistler HC (2008) Conidial germination in the filamentous fungus Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genet Biol 45:389–399

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stead D, Findon H, Yin Z, Walker J, Selway L, Cash P, Dujon BA, Hennequin C, Brown AJ, Haynes K (2005) Proteomic changes associated with inactivation of the Candida glabrata ACE2 virulence-moderating gene. Proteomics 5:1838–1848

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Takano Y, Choi WB, Mitchell TK, Okuno T, Dean RA (2003) Large scale parallel analysis of gene expression during infection-related morphogenesis of Magnaporthe grisea. Mol Plant Pathol 4:337–346

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thines E, Anke H, Weber RWS (2004) Fungal secondary metabolites as inhibitors of infection-related morphogenesis in phytopathogenic fungi. Mycol Res 108:14–25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SW, Glaring MA, Rasmussen SW, Kinane JT, Oliver RP (2002) Transcript profiling in the barley mildew pathogen Blumeria graminis by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). Mol Plant Microbe Interact 15:847–856

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JE, Fahnestock S, Farrall L, Liao DI, Valent B, Jordan DB (2000) The second naphthol reductase of fungal melanin biosynthesis in Magnaporthe grisea. J Biol Chem 275:34867–34872

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Velculescu VE, Zhang L, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW (1995) Serial analysis of gene expression. Science 270:484–487

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler IE, Hollomon DW, Gustafson G, Mitchell JC, Longhurst C, Zhang Z, Gurr S (2003) Quinoxyfen perturbs signal transduction in barley powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei). Mol Plant Pathol 4:177–186

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew J. Foster .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Foster, A.J., Thines, E. (2009). Identification of Fungicide Targets in Pathogenic Fungi. In: Anke, T., Weber, D. (eds) Physiology and Genetics. The Mycota, vol 15. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00286-1_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics