The Homeodomain Transcription Factor Ste12: Connecting Fungal MAPK Signalling to Plant Pathogenicity

Overview

Journal Commun Integr Biol

Specialty Biology

Date 2010 Aug 28

PMID 20798817

Citations 29

Authors

Nicolas Rispail

Antonio Di Pietro

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade orthologous to the mating/filamentation MAPK pathway in yeast is required for fungal pathogenicity on plants. One of the key targets of this signaling pathway is the homeodomain transcription factor Ste12. Mutational analysis of ste12 orthologues in a variety of plant pathogenic fungi suggests that Ste12 functions as a master regulator of invasive growth. In this mini-review we highlight recent progress in understanding the role of Ste12 in filamentous fungi and discuss future challenges of unravelling the mechanisms by which Ste12 controls fungal virulence downstream of the Pathogenicity MAPK cascade.

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