Peroxisomal carnitine acetyl transferase is required for elaboration of penetration hyphae during plant infection by Magnaporthe grisea.

Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of rice blast disease, invades plant tissue due to the action of specialized infection structures called appressoria, which are used to breach the leaf cuticle and allow development of intracellular, infectious hyphae. In this report we demonstrate that peroxisomal carnitine acetyl transferase (CAT) activity is necessary for appressorium function, and in particular, for the elaboration of primary penetration hyphae. The major CAT activity in M.