Phosphagen kinase function in flagellated spores of the oomycete Phytophthora infestans integrates transcriptional regulation, metabolic dynamics and protein retargeting

What is it about?

Many pathogenic eukaryotic microbes use swimming spores to infect their hosts. To help maintain biochemical energy across the cell during the swimming stage, some organisms use enzymes that store energy in compounds known as phosphagens. By studying an important potato pathogen, we show that these enzymes are deployed through coordination of cellular systems that regulate gene expression, deliver proteins where needed, and generate the biochemicals that the enzymes require for function. The enzymes are candidates for targets of chemical inhibitors that could block diseases.

Featured Image