AUTHOR=Pérez-Hernández Alicia , González Mario , González Celedonio , van Kan Jan A. L. , Brito Nélida 

TITLE=BcSUN1, a B. cinerea SUN-Family Protein, Is Involved in Virulence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00035

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.00035

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>BcSUN1 is a glycoprotein secreted by <italic>Botrytis cinerea</italic>, an important plant pathogen that causes severe losses in agriculture worldwide. In this work, the role of BcSUN1 in different aspects of the <italic>B. cinerea</italic> biology was studied by phenotypic analysis of <italic>Bcsun1</italic> knockout strains. We identified BcSUN1 as the only member of the Group-I SUN family of proteins encoded in the <italic>B. cinerea</italic> genome, which is expressed both in axenic culture and during infection. BcSUN1 is also weakly attached to the cellular surface and is involved in maintaining the structure of the cell wall and/or the extracellular matrix. Disruption of the <italic>Bcsun1</italic> gene produces different cell surface alterations affecting the production of reproductive structures and adhesion to plant surface, therefore reducing <italic>B. cinerea</italic> virulence. BcSUN1 is the first member of the SUN family reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of a filamentous fungus.</p>