CHS7 — Verticillium dahliae

Summary

VDAG_00419, designated VdCHS7 or CHS7, encodes a protein with chitin synthase activity (EC 2.4.1.16), cytoskeletal motor activity, actin binding, and ATP binding. The protein contains chitin synthase, myosin head motor, and cytochrome b5-like heme/steroid-binding domains. In Verticillium dahliae, VdCHS7 is associated with chitin anabolism and fungal-type cell wall organization, and localizes to the myosin complex, cytoplasmic vesicle membrane, cross wall, cell periphery, cell tip, and plasmalemma. The gene is associated with vascular wilt disease in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and Arabidopsis thaliana. Related genes in other species are linked to loss of pathogenicity, infection, and traits such as polysaccharide content and turgor pressure, with associations to smut in maize and fusarium head blight in wheat.