Genome-wide identification of the lysine deacetylases gene and its dynamic expression profile during adversity stress and infestation in Arthrinium phaeospermum.

Arthrinium phaeospermum, as the causal agent of shoot blight of Bambusa pervariabilis × Dendrocalamopsis grandis, causes large-scale dieback of hybrid bamboos in the Yangtze River valley in China. Acetylation, a dynamic modification system synergistically regulated by acetyltransferases and deacetylases, plays a key role in fungal epigenetic regulation. Although the functions of deacetylases in model fungi have been deeply resolved, the systematic characterization of this family in A. phaeospermum remains a gap, and the dynamics of its expression and the mechanism of regulating the pathogenicity of the pathogen have not been elucidated. In this study, we systematically characterized and analyzed the functions of the KDAC gene family in A. phaeospermum for the first time. Based on genome-wide data, conserved structural domains, and phylogenetic analysis, 12 ApKDAC genes were identified and classified into three subfamilies. Combined with transcriptome sequencing during infestation, seven candidate genes were screened for specific expression during the infestation stage. The validation experiments of deacetylase inhibitors showed that the deacetylase gene family plays an important role in the growth and reproduction of A. phaeospermum, and the characterization of the expression of the ApKDAC gene family showed that ApKDAC1, ApKDAC6, ApKDAC7, and ApKDAC9 were up-regulated in response to cell wall, membrane, salt, and oxidative stresses. In addition, all seven genes were significantly up-regulated during infestation, with ApKDAC1 and ApKDAC6 having the highest expression. In conclusion, ApKDAC1 and ApKDAC6 are critical for pathogenicity and broad-spectrum retrogressive ability of A. phaeospermum. This study provides an important basis for studying the function of this gene family and the prevention and control of bamboo fungal diseases.