Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41866646›Full record

ArticleCrop health2026

A functional atlas of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters governing growth, stress adaptation, and pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum.

Hao Qi, Liwen Zhao, Luona Xu, Chao Liu, Haolan Cheng, Xingmin Han, Yiyi Ren, Chenghui Xu, Jiayue Yan, Chao Jiang and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Crop health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Hao QiState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Liwen ZhaoState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Luona XuState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Chao LiuState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Haolan ChengState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Xingmin HanState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Yiyi RenState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Chenghui XuState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Jiayue YanState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Chao JiangLife Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Bin MaState Key Laboratory of Soil Pollution Control and Safety, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Zhonghua MaState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Yun ChenState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Biology and Ecological Regulation of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. chenyun0927@zju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5663-2352

Funding

China Agriculture Research System CARS-3-1-15Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities of the Central South University 226-2024-00070National Key R&D Program of China 2022YFD1400100Pioneer and Leading Goose R&D Program of Zhejiang 2023C02030
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Filamentous fungi harbor a vast potential for secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthesis, yet the biological functions of numerous biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) remain obscure. In Fusarium graminearum, a devastating cereal pathogen, SMs are best known as virulence factors, but their broader contributions to fungal physiology are poorly defined. Here, we present a genome-scale functional dissection of 53 predicted SM-BGCs by constructing a knockout library targeting cluster backbone genes and systematically quantifying 24 phenotypic traits, generating 1,272 phenotypic measurements. This dataset reveals that secondary metabolism is not a dispensable metabolic burden; instead, SM-BGCs are broadly integrated into vegetative growth, asexual development, and abiotic stress adaptation. Transcriptome analyses further uncover pronounced spatiotemporal regulation and tissue-dependent requirements of SM-BGCs during infection of wheat heads versus coleoptiles, thereby revealing an ecological dimension of pathogenesis. Mechanistic investigation identified two previously uncharacterized clusters, PKS-type BGC36 and NRPS-type BGC47, as critical for full virulence. BGC36 positively regulates deoxynivalenol (DON) biosynthesis, whereas disruption of BGC47 compromises cell wall/membrane stress tolerance and is associated with reduced phosphorylation of the kinase Mgv1, impaired DON-toxisome formation, and reduced DON production. Together, our findings establish fungal secondary metabolism as a core physiological buffer against environmental fluctuations that supports homeostasis and virulence, and they provide a comprehensive genetic resource for dissecting the chemical biology of Fusarium.

Indexed as

Biosynthetic gene clusterCell wall integrityDeoxynivalenolFusarium graminearumGenome-scale screeningPathogenicitySecondary metabolite

Identifiers

PMID41866646
PMCPMC13006487

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.