Abstract

We selected a reduced pathogenicity mutant of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, a tomato wilt pathogen, from the transformants generated by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) transformation. The gene tagged with the plasmid in the mutant was predicted to encode a protein of 321 amino acids and designated FPD1. Homology search showed its partial similarity to a chloride conductance regulatory protein of Xenopus, suggesting that FPD1 is a transmembrane protein. Although the function of FPD1 has not been identified, it does participate in pathogenicity of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, because FPD1-deficient mutants reproduced the reduced pathogenicity on tomato.

*National Institute for Agro-environmental Science (NIAES)
**Faculty of Agriculture, Meiji Univ.
***RIKEN Plant Science Center