MoRBP9 Encoding a Ran-Binding Protein Microtubule-Organizing Center Is Required for Asexual Reproduction and Infection in the Rice Blast Pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae

Like many fungal pathogens, the conidium and appressorium play key roles during polycyclic dissemination and infection of . Ran-binding protein microtubule-organizing center (RanBPM) is a highly conserved nucleocytoplasmic protein. In animalia, RanBPM has been implicated in apoptosis, cell morphology, and transcription. However, the functional roles of RanBPM, encoded by (named ) in , have not been elucidated. Here, the deletion mutant for was generated via homologous recombination to investigate the functions of this gene. The exhibited normal conidial germination and vegetative growth but dramatically reduced conidiation compared with the wild type, suggesting that is involved in conidial production. conidia failed to produce appressoria on hydrophobic surfaces, whereas still developed aberrantly shaped appressorium-like structures at hyphal tips on the same surface, suggesting that is involved in the morphology of appressorium-like structures from hyphal tips and is critical for development of appressorium from germ tubes. Taken together, our results indicated that played a pleiotropic role in polycyclic dissemination and infection-related morphogenesis of .