Mining and Functional Analysis of m6A Recognition Proteins of Plant Pathogenic Fungi
HE Xu1,*, ZHU Meng-Fang1,*, DONG Cai-Yi1, WANG Xuan1, YANG Meng-Yu1, GONG Xiao-Dong1, WEI Shu-Zhen2, GU Shou-Qin1, LIU Yu-Wei1,**, JIA Hui1,**
1 College of Life Sciences/Hebei Bioinformatic Utilization and Technological Innovation Center for Agricultural Microbes/State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, China; 2 Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Wetland Protection and Green Development, Hengshui 053000, China
Abstract：The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common RNA modification in eukaryotes. Proteins containing the YT521-B (YTH) domain recognize the m6A site and mediate RNA metabolism. However, the function of m6A recognition proteins in plant pathogenic fungi has not been reported yet. This study systematically identified and analyzed the m6A recognition proteins in 127 plant pathogenic fungi using bioinformatics method. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the genes encoding m6A recognition proteins during the development of Setosphaeria turcica were analyzed. The results showed that a total of 225 m6A recognition proteins were identified in the tested 127 fungi, and 93% of the fungi in the Basidiomycota phylum had 2 m6A recognition proteins. Physicochemical analysis showed that 67.56% of the m6A recognized proteins identified were alkaline. Notably, significant differences in the acidity and alkalinity of these proteins were observed within different phyla and fungal lifestyles. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 225 m6A recognition proteins could be classified into 5 groups, 2 of which shared a closer evolutionary relationship with humans (Homo sapiens). Additionally, m6A recognition proteins from fungi with the same phylum and lifestyle tended to cluster together on evolutionary branches. The conserved site analysis uncovered the existence of several conserved-type sites in the sequences of the YTH domain across the 225 m6A recognized proteins. A gene that encodes the m6A recognition protein, namely StYTH1, was identified in S. turcica. Expression analysis revealed that StYTH1 had the highest expression level in the developmental stage of appressorium, suggesting that StYTH1 might be involved in regulating the development of appressorium. The present study provides basic materials for an insightful revelation of the functions of the m6A recognition proteins.
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