Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi

Summary: Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an essential micronutrient in all forms of life that serves as a cofactor for several enzymes in primary metabolism. Plant-pathogenic and obligate biotrophic powdery mildew fungi appear to be auxotrophic for the micronutrient, as they have lost the majority of the g...

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Main Authors: Björn Sabelleck, Matthias Freh, Meltem Lammertz, Jennifer Browatzki, Anna-Maria Vllaho, Mariola Piślewska-Bednarek, Paweł Bednarek, Ralph Panstruga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225013847
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author Björn Sabelleck
Matthias Freh
Meltem Lammertz
Jennifer Browatzki
Anna-Maria Vllaho
Mariola Piślewska-Bednarek
Paweł Bednarek
Ralph Panstruga
author_facet Björn Sabelleck
Matthias Freh
Meltem Lammertz
Jennifer Browatzki
Anna-Maria Vllaho
Mariola Piślewska-Bednarek
Paweł Bednarek
Ralph Panstruga
author_sort Björn Sabelleck
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an essential micronutrient in all forms of life that serves as a cofactor for several enzymes in primary metabolism. Plant-pathogenic and obligate biotrophic powdery mildew fungi appear to be auxotrophic for the micronutrient, as they have lost the majority of the genes needed for thiamine biosynthesis. Using the barley powdery mildew pathogen, Blumeria hordei, as a study object, we found that (1) asexual conidiospores contain detectable levels of thiamine, (2) the B. hordei THI80 gene encodes a functional thiamine pyrophosphokinase, and (3) B. hordei has a functional DUR31-like thiamine transporter likely localizing to the cell surface. We further demonstrated a requirement of the metabolite for the activity of B. hordei transketolase, an enzyme of central carbon metabolism known to be thiamine-dependent in other organisms. Taken together, our data suggest that thiamine is a vitamin for B. hordei and, thus, likely all powdery mildew fungi.
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spelling doaj-art-cf3d64eba4d74d4abc26774ff0ff5f582025-08-20T03:58:36ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-08-0128811312310.1016/j.isci.2025.113123Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungiBjörn Sabelleck0Matthias Freh1Meltem Lammertz2Jennifer Browatzki3Anna-Maria Vllaho4Mariola Piślewska-Bednarek5Paweł Bednarek6Ralph Panstruga7Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, GermanyUnit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, GermanyUnit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, GermanyUnit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, GermanyUnit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14 61-704 Poznań, PolandInstitute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14 61-704 Poznań, PolandUnit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1 52056 Aachen, Germany; Corresponding authorSummary: Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an essential micronutrient in all forms of life that serves as a cofactor for several enzymes in primary metabolism. Plant-pathogenic and obligate biotrophic powdery mildew fungi appear to be auxotrophic for the micronutrient, as they have lost the majority of the genes needed for thiamine biosynthesis. Using the barley powdery mildew pathogen, Blumeria hordei, as a study object, we found that (1) asexual conidiospores contain detectable levels of thiamine, (2) the B. hordei THI80 gene encodes a functional thiamine pyrophosphokinase, and (3) B. hordei has a functional DUR31-like thiamine transporter likely localizing to the cell surface. We further demonstrated a requirement of the metabolite for the activity of B. hordei transketolase, an enzyme of central carbon metabolism known to be thiamine-dependent in other organisms. Taken together, our data suggest that thiamine is a vitamin for B. hordei and, thus, likely all powdery mildew fungi.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225013847plant biochemistryinteraction of plants with organismsmolecular plant pathologyplant pathology
spellingShingle Björn Sabelleck
Matthias Freh
Meltem Lammertz
Jennifer Browatzki
Anna-Maria Vllaho
Mariola Piślewska-Bednarek
Paweł Bednarek
Ralph Panstruga
Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
iScience
plant biochemistry
interaction of plants with organisms
molecular plant pathology
plant pathology
title Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
title_full Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
title_fullStr Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
title_full_unstemmed Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
title_short Thiamine is a vitamin for plant-pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
title_sort thiamine is a vitamin for plant pathogenic powdery mildew fungi
topic plant biochemistry
interaction of plants with organisms
molecular plant pathology
plant pathology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225013847
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