Role of the White Collar 1 Photoreceptor in Carotenogenesis, UV Resistance, Hydrophobicity, and Virulence of <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>

Abstract

Knockout mutants of Fusarium oxysporum lacking the putative photoreceptor Wc1 were impaired in aerial hyphae, surface hydrophobicity, light-induced carotenogenesis, photoreactivation after UV treatment, and upregulation of photolyase gene transcription. Infection experiments with tomato plants and immunodepressed mice revealed that Wc1 is dispensable for pathogenicity on plants but required for full virulence on mammals.