Fig. 1. Identification of UvPsr1 in Ustilaginonidea virens. A, Alignment of Psr1 proteins produced by U. virens (UvPsr1 and UvPsr2) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScPsr1 and ScPsr2). Amino acids in black and gray represent amino acids identity and 50% similairty respectively. B, Phylogeny of the Psr proteins, derived from an alignment of homologous proteins encoded by U. virens (UvPsr1), S. cerevisiae (ScPsr1), Magnaporthe oryzae (MoPsr1), Podospora anserina (PaPsr1) and Fusarium graminearum (FgPsr1). C, Abundance of UvPSR1 transcript following the inoculation of rice panicles with U. virens. Samples were taken at 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 dpi (days post inoculation). β-tubulin gene served as the reference. Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3).

Fig. 2. Targeted gene deletion and complementation of UvPSR1 in U. virens. A, Strategy for constructing a ∆Uvpsr1 strain (WT) involved replacing UvPSR1 with hygromycin phosphotransferase gene cassette (HYG). B, Southern blot assay used to validate the loss of UvPSR1 in the ∆Uvpsr1 deletion mutant. C and D, Abundance of UvPSR1 transcript in mycelia of the WT, ∆Uvpsr1 and ∆Uvpsr1-C strains. No transcript was detected in either the ∆Uvpsr1-1 or ∆Uvpsr1-9 strains. Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3). *** indicates the significant difference at the 0.001 level.

Fig. 3. UvPsr1 is needed for mycelial growth of U. virens. A, Colonies of the WT, ∆Uvpsr1 and ∆Uvpsr1-C strains grown on potato sucrose agar (PSA) in the dark for 15 d. B, Quantification of fungal growth as measured by colony diameter. C, Dry weight of mycelia developed in potato sucrose medium for 7 d. Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3). *** indicates significant difference at the 0.001 level.

Fig. 4. Effects of UvPSR1 in production of conidia (A), sensitivity to osmosis and salinity stresses (B), tolerance to oxidative stress (C), and tolerance to cell wall disruption induced by SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate), CFW (calcofluor white stain) and CR (congo red) (D).Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3). ** and *** indicate significant differences at the 0.01 and 0.001 levels, respectively.

Fig. 5. Pathogenicity of U. virens requires the presence of UvPsr1. A, Disease symptoms on the rice panicle following inoculation at the booting stage with a mixture of mycelia and conidia of either the WT, ∆Uvpsr1 or ∆Uvpsr1-C-9 strains. B, Quantification of pathogenicity as measured by the number of smut balls formed within the panicle. Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3). *** indicates significant difference at the 0.001 level.

Fig. 6. Culture filtrates of ∆Uvpsr1 mutants showed reduced inhibition of rice seed elongation. A, Grains were germinated in the presence of the filtrate of WT strain, UvPSR1 mutants (∆Uvpsr1-1 and ∆Uvpsr1-9) and complementary (∆Uvpsr1-C-9) strain. B, Quantification of shoot lengths. Data are shown as Mean ± SD (n = 3). *** indicates the significant difference at the 0.001 level.