A homologue of a gene implicated in the virulence of human fungal diseasesis present in a plant fungal pathogen and is expressed during infection

The gene encoding SnodProt1 (SP1), an extracellular protein secreted by the wheat fungal pathogen, Stagonospora (Septoria) nodorum, has been isolated and characterised. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits significant sim ilarity to antigenic and allergenic proteins encoded by genes cloned from t he human fungal pathogens, Coccidioides immitis and Aspergillus fumigatus, respectively. SP1 also exhibits similarity to an EST cDNA derived from the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea, grown on isolated rice cell walls. N orthern and Western blot analyses show that the gene encoding SP1 is expres sed and that the protein is secreted during infection of wheat leaves. (C) 1999 Academic Press.