Involvement of BcVeA and BcVelB in regulating conidiation, pigmentation and virulence in Botrytis cinerea

The heterotrimeric velvet complex VeA/VelB/LaeA is involved in the regulation of diverse cellular processes in Aspergillus nidulans. In this work, we investigated functions of two velvet-like genes BcVEA and BcVELB in Botrytis cinerea. Morphological characterization of BcVEA and BcVELB deletion mutants showed that the deletion of BcVEA and BcVELB led to increased conidiation and melanin biosynthesis. BcVEA and BcVELB deletion mutants also showed increased sensitivity to oxidative stress. Pathogenicity assays revealed that both BcVeA and BcVelB were essential for full virulence of B. cinerea. Yeast two-hybrid assay displayed the interaction of BcVeA with BcVelB. Results of this study indicate that BcVeA and BcVelB coordinate similar processes in the regulation of fungal development, oxidative stress response, and virulence in B. cinerea.

► The velvet-like proteins BcVeA and BcVelb act as negative regulators for conidiation and melanin biosynthesis in B. cinerea.
► BcVeA and BcVelB are essential for sclerotial development in B. cinerea.
► BcVeA and BcVelB are involved in the regulation of virulence in B. cinerea.
► BcVeA and BcVelB share similar functions in the regulation of various cellular processes in B. cinerea.