A C2H2 Zinc Finger Protein PlCZF1 Is Necessary for Oospore Development and Virulence in Peronophythora litchii

C2H2 zinc finger is one of the most common motifs found in the transcription factors (TFs) in eukaryotes organisms, which have a broad range of functions, such as regulation of growth and development, stress tolerance and pathogenicity. Here, PlCZF1 was identified to encode a C2H2 zinc finger in the litchi downy blight pathogen Peronophythora litchii. PlCZF1 is conserved in P. litchii and Phytophthora species. In P. litchii, PlCZF1 is highly expressed in sexual developmental and early infection stages. We generated Delta plczf1 mutants using the CRISPR/Cas9 method. Compared with the wild type, the Delta plczf1 mutants showed no significant difference in vegetative growth and asexual reproduction, but were defective in oospore development and virulence. Further experiments revealed that the transcription of PlM90, PlLLP and three laccase encoding genes were down-regulated in the Delta plczf1 mutant. Our results demonstrated that PlCZF1 is a vital regulator for sexual development and pathogenesis in P. litchii.

Automated summary

This study identifies PlCZF1 as a crucial regulator for sexual development and pathogenesis in the litchi downy blight pathogen, Peronophythora litchii.