Table 2.
Functional analysis (knock‐out) of potential Claviceps purpurea virulence genes.
| Gene product | Gene | Impact on pathogenicity | Other defects | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cellobiohydrolase | cpcel1 | None | Müller et al. (1997) | |
| Endo‐1,4‐β‐xylanase | cpxyl1 | None | J. Scheffer et al., WWU Muenster, unpublished data | |
| Endo‐1,4‐β‐xylanase | cpxyl2 | Slight delay of colonization | J. Scheffer et al., WWU Muenster, unpublished data | |
| cpxyl1/cpxyl2 | Slight delay of colonization | J. Scheffer et al., WWU Muenster, unpublished data | ||
| Polygalacturonases | cppg1/cppg2 | Non‐pathogenic | Oeser et al. (2002) | |
| Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase | cpsod1 | Reduced growth rate | Moore et al. (2002) | |
| Catalase | cpcat1 | None | Garre et al. (1998) | |
| NADPH oxidase | cpnox1 | Significant reduction of virulence | Giesbert et al. (2008) | |
| NADPH oxidase | cpnox2 | Increase of virulence/honeydew formation | No ripe sclerotia | D. Buttermann et al., unpublished data |
| Multicopper oxidase | cpmco1 | None | S. Moore et al., WWU Muenster, unpublished data | |
| Transcription factor | cptf1 | Significant reduction of virulence | Reduction of catalase activity | Nathues et al. (2004) |
| MAPK | cpmk1 | Non‐pathogenic | Mey et al. (2002b) | |
| MAPK | cpmk2 | Significant reduction of virulence | Defective in conidiation and cell wall structure | Mey et al. (2002a) |
| Serine/threonine kinase | cpcot1 | Non‐pathogenic | Cell shape and branching strongly affected | Scheffer et al. (2005a) |
| Small GTPase | cpcdc42 | Non‐pathogenic | Hyperbranching, hypersporulation | Scheffer et al. (2005b) |
| Small GTPase | rac | Non‐pathogenic | Cell shape and branching strongly affected | Rolke and Tudzynski (2008) |
| PAK kinase | cla4 | Non‐pathogenic | Cell shape and branching strongly affected | Rolke and Tudzynski (2008) |
| Pentahydrophobin | cpph1 | None | Mey et al. (2003) | |
| Histidine kinase | cphk1 | Reduction of virulence (conidia only) | Significantly reduced germination rate, increased resistance to menadione | Nathues et al. (2007) |
| Stretch‐activated ion channel | cpmid1 | Non‐pathogenic | Increased sensitivity to cell wall stress | J. Bormann and P. Tudzynski, unpublished data |
| Subunit involved in non‐homologous end‐joining | ku70 | Haarmann et al. (2008) |
GTPase, guanosine triphosphatase; MAPK, mitogen‐activated protein kinase; NADPH, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate; PAK, p21‐activated kinase.