2. Academic Validation
  3. The role of the poly(A) binding protein-binding protein MoPbp1 as a regulator of the TOR signaling pathway in growth, autophagy, and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus

The role of the poly(A) binding protein-binding protein MoPbp1 as a regulator of the TOR signaling pathway in growth, autophagy, and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus

  • Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Mar 3;306(Pt 4):141730. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.141730.
Junlian Xiao 1,  Xiaoru Kang 1,  Na Li 1,  Jinmei Hu 1,  Yu Wang 1,  Jianyu Si 1,  Yuemin Pan 2,  Shulin Zhang 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Crop Integrated Pest Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
  • 2 Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Crop Integrated Pest Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China. Electronic address: panyuemin2008@163.com.
  • 3 Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Crop Integrated Pest Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China. Electronic address: zhangsl80h@ahau.edu.cn.
PMID: 40043978 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.141730
Abstract

The target of the rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway is crucial for biological function in plant pathogenic fungi, yet its regulatory mechanisms remain limited. In this study, the biological functions of MoPbp1 were identified and characterized, and the findings indicate that MoPbp1 contributes to hyphal growth, conidiation, appressoria formation, metabolism of glycogen and lipid droplets, responses to stress, and pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae. Further investigation revealed that MoPBP1 acts as a negative regulator of TOR activity and influences Autophagy. In addition, transcriptome data revealed that MoPBP1 mainly regulates amino acid metabolism pathways, components of membrane, and oxidation-reduction process. Our results suggest that MoPbp1 is required for Autophagy and pathogenicity in M. oryzae. Overall, we first revealed the relationship between Pbp1 and TOR activity in plant pathogenic fungi.

Keywords

Autophagy; Magnaporthe oryzae; Pathogenicity; Regulation; TOR signaling pathway.

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