Expression of HopAI interferes with MAP kinase signalling in Magnaporthe oryzae

The Pmk1 and Mps1 MAP kinases are essential for appressorium formation and plant infection in Magnaporthe oryzae. However, their exact roles during invasive growth are not clear because pmk1 and mps1 mutants are defective in penetration. To further characterize their functions after penetration, in this study we expressed the Pseudomonas syringae effector HopAI known to inactivate plant MAP kinases in M. oryzae. Constitutive expression of HopAI with the RP27 or TrpC promoter resulted in defects in hyphal growth, conidiation, appressorium penetration and pathogenicity, which is similar to the phenotype of the mps1 mutant. HopAI interacted strongly with Mps1 in vivo and expression of dominant active MKK2 partially suppressed the defects of P_RP27 -HopAI transformants, which were significantly reduced in Mps1 phosphorylation. When the infection-specific MIR1 (Magnaporthe-infection-related gene-1) promoter was used to express HopAI, P_MIR1 -HopAI transformants were defective in the spreading of invasive hyphae and elicited strong defense responses in penetrated plant cells. Expression of HopAI in Fusarium graminearum also mainly affected the activation of Mgv1, an Mps1 orthologue. Taken together, our results showed that Mps1 is the major intracellular target of HopAI when it is overexpressed, and MAP kinase signalling is important for cell-to-cell movement of invasive hyphae in M. oryzae.