A cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase required for sclerotial development in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Sclerotial development is a vital stage in the life cycles of many fungal plant pathogens. In this study, the protein Ss-CAD, which contains three conserved domains of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), was found to be required for sclerotial development in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Ss-CAD was significantly upregulated during early stage of sclerotial development. In Ss-CAD-silenced strains, sclerotial development was abnormal. In these silenced strains, formation of sclerotia was delayed or sclerotia yield was reduced, whereas hyphal growth and virulence were normal. Nox1, Nox2, and NoxR, which encode reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating NADPH oxidases, were downregulated in Ss-CAD-silenced strains. NoxR-silenced strains displayed similar defects during sclerotial formation as Ss-CAD-silenced strains. Treatment of Ss-CAD-silenced strains with exogenous oxidants or NADPH restored normal sclerotial development. Sclerogenesis in Ss-CAD-silenced strains could also be recovered through Nox1 overexpression. The results suggest that Ss-CAD is linked to the NADPH oxidase pathways to affect sclerotial development in S. sclerotiorum.