International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Evidence for the Role of CYP51A and Xenobiotic Detoxification in Differential Sensitivity to Azole Fungicides in Boxwood Blight Pathogens Stefanos Stravoravdis 1,2, Robert E. Marra 3 , Nicholas R. LeBlanc 4,5, Jo Anne Crouch 4 and Jonathan P. Hulvey 2,* 1 Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA;
[email protected] 2 Biology Department, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT 06226, USA 3 Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT 06504, USA;
[email protected] 4 Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA;
[email protected] (N.R.L.);
[email protected] (J.A.C.) 5 ARS Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117, USA * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Boxwood blight, a fungal disease of ornamental plants (Buxus spp.), is caused by two sister species, Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) and C. henricotiae (Che). Compared to Cps, Che is documented to display reduced sensitivity to fungicides, including the azole class of antifungals, Citation: Stravoravdis, S.; Marra, which block synthesis of a key fungal membrane component, ergosterol. A previous study reported R.E.; LeBlanc, N.R.; Crouch, J.A.; an ergosterol biosynthesis gene in Cps, CYP51A, to be a pseudogene, and RNA-Seq data confirm that a Hulvey, J.P. Evidence for the Role of functional CYP51A is expressed only in Che. The lack of additional ergosterol biosynthesis genes show- CYP51A and Xenobiotic ing significant differential expression suggests that the functional CYP51A in Che could contribute to Detoxification in Differential reduced azole sensitivity when compared to Cps.