灰霉菌（Botrytis cinerea）是园丁的最大敌人之一，因为它可以毁坏一系列植物。它引起的灰霉病能够影响200多种观赏性和重要农艺植物品种，包括土豆、番茄和辣椒。灰霉能分泌botrydial和botcinic acid等植物毒素。杀灭灰霉菌的唯一方法就是在植物上喷洒昂贵且对人体和环境有害的杀真菌剂。美国的Brown大学，西班牙Cadiz大学和法国国家农业研究所已经揭示了这种病菌的致命毒素如何形成并如何自然消除。
由Muriel Viaud和David Cane带领的研究团队鉴定出5种基因与杀死并入侵植物细胞的毒素botrydial的产生有关。引入一种变异的基因可以抑制负责产生botrydial的倍半萜烯环化酶的功能。这一发现可以使科学家设计出不用杀真菌剂控制灰霉的方法。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
ACS Chem. Biol., 2008, 3 (12), pp 791–801 DOI: 10.1021/cb800225v
Sesquiterpene Synthase from the Botrydial Biosynthetic Gene Cluster of the Phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea
Cristina Pinedo, Chieh-Mei Wang, Jean-Marc Pradier, Be?renge?re Dalmai, Mathias Choquer, Pascal Le Pe?cheur, Guillaume Morgant, Isidro G. Collado, David E. Cane?* and Muriel Viaud
? Departamento de Qui?mica Orga?nica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Ca?diz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain ? Department of Chemistry, Box H, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912-9108 § UMR BIOGER, INRA, Route de Saint-Cyr, 78086 Versailles, France
The fungus Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of the economically important gray mold disease that affects more than 200 ornamental and agriculturally important plant species. B. cinerea is a necrotrophic plant pathogen that secretes nonspecific phytotoxins, including the sesquiterpene botrydial and the polyketide botcinic acid. The region surrounding the previously characterized BcBOT1 gene has now been identified as the botrydial biosynthetic gene cluster. Five genes including BcBOT1 and BcBOT2 were shown by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR to be co-regulated through the calcineurin signaling pathway. Inactivation of the BcBOT2 gene, encoding a putative sesquiterpene cyclase, abolished botrydial biosynthesis, which could be restored by in trans complementation. Inactivation of BcBOT2 also resulted in overproduction of botcinic acid that was observed to be strain-dependent. Recombinant BcBOT2 protein converted farnesyl diphosphate to the parent sesquiterpene of the botrydial biosynthetic pathway, the tricyclic alcohol presilphiperfolan-8β-ol.
