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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1995 Jan 3;92(1):305–309. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.1.305

Virus-mediated or transgenic suppression of a G-protein alpha subunit and attenuation of fungal virulence.

G H Choi 1, B Chen 1, D L Nuss 1
PMCID: PMC42867  PMID: 7816838

Abstract

Strains of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica harboring RNA viruses of the genus Hypovirus exhibit significantly reduced levels of virulence (called hypovirulence). The accumulation of a heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein) alpha subunit of the Gi class was found to be reduced in hypovirus-containing C. parasitica strains. Transgenic cosuppression, a phenomenon frequently observed in transgenic plants, reduced the accumulation of this alpha subunit in virus-free fungal strains. Significantly, the resulting transgenic fungal strains were also hypovirulent. These results indicate a crucial role for G-protein-linked signal transduction in fungal pathogenesis and suggest a molecular basis for virus-mediated attenuation of fungal virulence.

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Selected References

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