Functional characterization of the gene FoOCH1 encoding a putative α-1,6-mannosyltransferase in Foc R4T (2014)

In this study, the gene disrupted in a T-DNA insertion mutant (L953) of FOC with significantly reduced virulence in banana plants was identified and classified. The T-DNA insertion-disrupted gene in L953 harbours an open reading frame, which encodes a protein with homology to α-1,6-mannosyltransferase (OCH1) in fungi. Deletion mutants (ΔFoOCH1) of the OCH1 orthologue (FoOCH1) in FOC had impaired fungal growth, leading to loss of the ability to penetrate the cellophane membrane and decreased hyphal adhesion and colonisation, as well as virulence in the banana host.