Fungicide resistance towards fludioxonil conferred by overexpression of the phosphatase gene Mo PTP 2 in Magnaporthe oryzae

The fungicide fludioxonil causes hyperactivation of the Hog1p MAPK within the high-osmolarity glycerol signaling pathway essential for osmoregulation in pathogenic fungi. The molecular regulation of MoHog1p phosphorylation is not completely understood in pathogenic fungi. Thus, we identified and characterized the putative MoHog1p-interacting phosphatase gene MoPTP2 in the filamentous rice pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. We found overexpression of MoPTP2 conferred fludioxonil resistance in M. oryzae, whereas the 'loss of function' mutant ΔMoptp2 was more susceptible toward the fungicide. Additionally, quantitative phosphoproteome profiling of MoHog1p phosphorylation revealed lower phosphorylati…