Stk2, a Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase from Setosphaeria turcica, Specifically Complements the Functions of the Fus3 and Kss1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Filamentation, Invasive Growth, and Mating Behavior

Setosphaeria turcica, an essential phytopathogenic fungus, is the primary cause of serious yield losses in corn; however, its pathogenic mechanism is poorly understood. We cloned STK2, a newly discovered mitogen-activated protein kinase gene with a deduced amino acid sequence that is 96% identical to MAK2 from Phaeosphaeria nodorum, 56% identical to KSS1 and 57% identical to FUS3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To deduce Stk2 function in S. turcica and to identify the genetic relationship between STK2 and KSS1/FUS3 from S. cerevisiae, a restructured vector containing the open reading frame of STK2 was transformed into a fus3/kss1 double deletion mutant of S. cerevisiae. The results show that the STK2 complementary strain clearly formed pseudohyphae and ascospores, and the strain grew on the surface of the medium after rinsing with sterile water and the characteristics of the complementary strain was the same as the wild-type strain. Moreover, STK2 complemented the function of KSS1 in filamentation and invasive growth, as well as the mating behavior of FUS3 in S. cerevisiae, however, its exact functions in S. turcica will be studied in the future research.