BcMctA, a putative monocarboxylate transporter, is required for pathogenicity in Botrytis cinerea

Monocarboxylate transporters have a central role in mammalian metabolism, but rarely reported in phytopathogenic fungi. In this study, a putative monocarboxylate transporter gene in Botrytis cinerea [B. cinerea MctA (BcMctA)] was identified in the research of a B. cinerea transfer DNA (T-DNA) insertional mutant (74). Disruption of the gene decreased the growth rate on the medium with monocarboxylate (acetate or pyruvate) as the sole carbon sources, but not affected on lactate. The pyruvate contents in BcmctA deletion mutants decreased about 35 % compared with the wild strain. Besides, the conidial yield was increased about two times in BcmctA disruption mutant. The pathogenicity assay indicated that disruption of BcmctA significantly reduced the virulence of B. cinerea on cucumber and tomato leaves. Our results demonstrated that BcMctA is related to pyruvate uptake and pathogenicity of B. cinerea on cucumber and tomato leaves.