Insight into vital role of autophagy in sustaining biological control potential of fungal pathogens against pest insects and nematodes

ABSTRACT

Autophagy is a conserved self-degradation mechanism that governs a large array of cellular processes in filamentous fungi. Filamentous insect and nematode mycopthogens function in the natural control of host populations and have been widely applied for biological control of insect and nematode pests. Entomopathogenic and nematophagous fungi have conserved “core” autophagy machineries that are analogous to those found in yeast but also feature several proteins involved in specific aspects of the autophagic pathways. Here, we review the functions of autophagy in protecting fungal cells from starvation and stress cues and sustaining cell differentiation, asexual development and virulence. An emphasis is placed upon the regulatory mechanisms involved in autophagic and non-autophagic roles of some autophagy-related genes. Methods used for monitoring conserved or specific autophagic events in fungal pathogens are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Entomopathogenic fungi
• nematophagous fungi
• autophagic events
• asexual development
• stress response
• virulence
• host-pathogen interactions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 31670144) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (Grant No.: 2017YFD0201202).