Expression specificity of CBP1 is regulated by transcriptional repression during vegetative growth of Magnaporthe oryzae

Abstract

The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae produces appressoria during the infection of a host. In M. oryzae, the appressorium formation-related gene CBP1 (Chitin Binding Protein 1) is specifi cally expressed during the early stage of appressorium differentiation. The transcription factor CON7 activates CBP1 expression. However, many aspects of the regulation of CBP1 expression are still unknown. In this report, the CBP1 5' upstream region was analyzed using an egfp reporter. Deletion of the CBP1 5' upstream region caused derepression of reporter gene activity during vegetative growth. This result suggests that CBP1 expression is repressed during vegetative growth. The key 5' upstream sequences for CBP1 repression were examined. Furthermore, cis- and trans-acting elements of the negative regulatory region were investigated. Here, we discuss the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of CBP1.