AUTHOR=Wang Shaowei , Liang Hao , Wei Yi , Zhang Penghui , Dang Yuejia , Li Guihua , Zhang Shi-Hong 

TITLE=Alternative Splicing of MoPTEN Is Important for Growth and Pathogenesis in Magnaporthe oryzae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.715773

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.715773

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Human PTEN, a dual-phosphatase tumor suppressor, is frequently dysregulated by alternative splicing. Fungi harbor <italic>PTEN</italic> homologs, but alternative splicing of fungal <italic>PTENs</italic> has not been reported as far as we know. Here, we described an alternative splicing case in the <italic>PTEN</italic> homolog of <italic>Magnaporthe oryzae</italic> (<italic>MoPTEN</italic>). Two splice variants of <italic>MoPTEN</italic> were detected and identified, which are resulted from an intron retention and exclusion (<italic>MoPTEN-1/2</italic>). Both proteins were different in lipid and protein phosphatase activity and in expression patterns. The <italic>MoPTEN</italic> deletion mutant (Δ<italic>MoPTEN</italic>) showed the defects in conidiation, appressorium formation, and pathogenesis. Δ<italic>MoPTEN</italic> could be completely restored by <italic>MoPTEN</italic>, but rescued partially by <italic>MoPTEN-1</italic> in the defect of conidium and appressorium formation, and by <italic>MoPTEN-2</italic> in the defect of invasive development. Assays to assess sensitivity to oxidative stress reveal the involvement of <italic>MoPTEN-2</italic> in scavenging exogenous and host-derived H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Taken together, <italic>MoPTEN</italic> undergoes alternative splicing, and both variants cooperatively contribute to conidium and appressorium development, and invasive hyphae growth in plant cells, revealing a novel disease development pathway in <italic>M. oryzae</italic>.</p>