SLN1 — Verticillium dahliae

Summary

VDAG_08553, designated VdSLN1 (also known as VdTCSB), encodes a protein with a histidine kinase domain, a signal transduction histidine kinase-like domain, a response regulator receiver domain, and an HATPase domain, and it has osmosensor activity, histidine phosphotransfer kinase activity, phosphorelay sensor kinase activity, sequence-specific DNA binding activity, and DNA binding transcription factor activity. In Verticillium dahliae, VdSLN1 is associated with the regulation of conidium formation, filamentous growth, melanin biosynthesis, fungal-type cell wall biogenesis, and the cellular response to reactive oxygen species and hyperosmotic stress. It is linked to the downregulation of calcium-independent cell-cell adhesion and phagocytosis, and to the regulation of single-species biofilm formation. The gene is also associated with vascular wilt in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and Nicotiana benthamiana. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to osmolarity sensing, turgor pressure, oxidative stress response, and loss of pathogenicity.