The Small Ras Superfamily GTPase Rho4 of the Maize Anthracnose Fungus Is Required for β-1,3-glucan Synthesis, Cell Wall Integrity, and Full Virulence.

Small Ras superfamily GTPases are highly conserved regulatory factors of fungal cell wall biosynthesis and morphogenesis. Previous experiments have shown that the Rho4-like protein of the maize anthracnose fungus , formerly erroneously annotated as a Rho1 protein, physically interacts with the β-1,3-glucan synthase Gls1 (Lange et al., 2014; Curr.