Conservation of the genes for HC-toxin biosynthesis in Alternaria jesenskae.

Background: HC-toxin, a cyclic tetrapeptide, is a virulence determinant for the plant pathogenic fungus Cochliobolus carbonum. It was recently discovered that another fungus, Alternaria jesenskae, also produces HC-toxin.

Results: The major genes (collectively known as AjTOX2) involved in the biosynthesis of HC-toxin were identified from A.

Biosynthesis and role in virulence of the histone deacetylase inhibitor depudecin from Alternaria brassicicola.

Depudecin, an eleven-carbon linear polyketide made by the pathogenic fungus Alternaria brassicicola, is an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC). A chemically unrelated HDAC inhibitor, HC toxin, was earlier shown to be a major virulence factor in the interaction between Cochliobolus carbonum and its host, maize. In order to test whether depudecin is also a virulence factor for A.