Functional Characterization of a NEM1-Like Gene in Magnaporthe oryzae

Magnaporthe oryzae, a filamentous ascomycete fungus, is well known as the causal agent of rice blast. With the technology of suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH), it was previously found that MGG_06001 (or named MoNEMl), a gene of M. oryzae homologous to the NEMl (nuclear envelope morphology protein 1) gene of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), is differentially expressed between the mature appressium and the conidium and mycelium. This study aimed to characterize the function of MoNEMl gene by knocking it out using the method of target gene replacement. The AMoneml mutants exhibited reduced mycelial growth and conidiation. However, disruption of MoNEMl gene does not affect the pathogenicity of M. oryzae on barley and rice.