Studying Effects of PDA Media Strengths on the Growth of Colletotrichum sublineola Using MPLEx-Based Integrative Proteomics and Metabolomics Analyses

Dawar, P.; Farago, D.; Zemaitis, K. J.; Thomas, A.; Lalli, P. M.; Clendinen, C. S.; Paurus, V. L.; Law, T. F.; Bredeweg, E. L.; Fulcher, J. M.; Dangl, J. L.; Liu, Q.; Pasa-Tolic, L.

doi:10.64898/2026.05.15.724728

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.05.15.724728

Studying Effects of PDA Media Strengths on the Growth of Colletotrichum sublineola Using MPLEx-Based Integrative Proteomics and Metabolomics Analyses

Dawar, P.·Farago, D.·Zemaitis, K. J.·Thomas, A.·Lalli, P. M.·Clendinen, C. S.·Paurus, V. L.·Law, T. F.·Bredeweg, E. L.·Fulcher, J. M.·Dangl, J. L.·Liu, Q.·Pasa-Tolic, L.

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Abstract

Colletotrichum sublineola (Cs), the hemibiotrophic fungus that causes sorghum anthracnose, impacts sorghum grain and biomass crop production worldwide. Although nutrient availability is known to influence development in filamentous fungi, including Colletotrichum species, how in vitro nutrient limitation reprograms the Cs cellular state remains unclear. We cultured Cs on full-strength, half-strength, and one-tenth-strength potato dextrose agar (PDA) to define responses across a nutrient gradient. Nutrient limitation induced a pronounced high-sporulation phenotype, with one-tenth-strength PDA producing the strongest conidiation response, followed by half-strength PDA. To study the underlying molecular programs in each condition, we employed a multiplexed metabolite, protein, and lipid extraction (MPLEx) protocol for global proteomics and metabolomics. Global proteomics resulted in 4,590 protein identifications, including 204 unique to one-tenth-strength PDA. Among them are proteins linked to sporulation, vesicular transport, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchor biosynthesis, and common in fungal extracellular membrane (CFEM)-domain proteins. Differential abundance and pathway analyses revealed a broad reduction of central carbon and energy metabolism, including glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate, pyruvate metabolism, and glyoxylate pathways, together with increased ribosome-related processes, cAMP signaling, and cell-surface remodeling in one-tenth-strength PDA conditions. In addition, correlative metabolomics supported selective metabolic depletion and resource reallocation toward stress adaptation, membrane remodeling, and conidiation, supporting proteomics findings. Together, these data support a starvation-adapted Cs developmental state associated with enhanced sporulation, cellular pathway reprogramming, and potential virulence linked preparedness under nutrient-limited growth conditions in vitro. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=114 SRC="FIGDIR/small/724728v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (33K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f9039borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@5bef0eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1abb7b6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@aa11a9_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

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Dawar, P., Farago, D., Zemaitis, K. J., Thomas, A., Lalli, P. M., Clendinen, C. S., Paurus, V. L., Law, T. F., Bredeweg, E. L., Fulcher, J. M., Dangl, J. L., Liu, Q., Pasa-Tolic, L.. 2026-05-17. Studying Effects of PDA Media Strengths on the Growth of Colletotrichum sublineola Using MPLEx-Based Integrative Proteomics and Metabolomics Analyses. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.15.724728

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