Chromatin accessibility profile and the role of PeAtf1 transcription factor in the postharvest pathogen Penicillium expansum

Abstract

Gene transcription is governed by a complex regulatory system involving changes in chromatin structure, the action of transcription factors, and the activation of cis-regulatory elements. Postharvest fruits are threatened by Penicillium expansum, a leading causal agent of blue mold disease and one of the most economically significant postharvest pathogens worldwide. However, information on its transcription regulatory mechanism is lagging. Here, we conducted an assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) for P. expansum during vegetative growth and infection phase and then studied the function of a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor PeAtf1. Results highlighted the role of promoter regions in gene transcription and the significant difference in P. expansum between these two phases. Six footprint-supported cis-regulatory elements of active transcription factors were obtained and analyzed. We then identified a homolog of the bZIP regulator Atf1, PeAtf1, and found it positively regulated vegetative growth, reproduction, and osmotic stress response in P. expansum. Furthermore, PeAtf1 deletion enhanced the fungus's tolerance to oxidative, cell wall, and membrane stresses, which might contribute to the virulence of deletion mutants in apple fruits, leading to similar pathogenicity between mutants and the wild type. Overall, this study provides new insights into the transcription regulatory profile of P. expansum, aiding in the future development of strategies to control P. expansum.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072276; 32102030) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023 M741440). The authors would like to thank Professor Hui-Shan Guo (State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Sheng Wang (Hui-Shan Guo LAB, State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing pGKO-HPT plasmid and technical support.

Author contributions

Y.R.W.: Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Writing original draft, Resources. K.L.W.: Methodology, Conceptualization, Funding acquisition. Q.Y.Y.: Conceptualization, Project administration, Resources. Z.T.W.: Methodology, Validation, Investigation. Y.Y.S.: Conceptualization, Software. X.F.C.: Methodology, Visualization. H.Y.Z.: Supervision, Writing—review & editing, Funding acquisition. All authors have discussed and approved the manuscript.

Data availability

ATAC-seq data are available in the National Genomics Data Center (NGDC) under BioProject accession PRJCA029681. Other data are included in this article and the supplementary data.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary Data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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