Endocytosis and its inhibitors in basidiomycetous fungus Rhizoctonia solani

Abstract

Endocytosis is a complex process of absorption from the environment (and subsequent distribution within the cell) of soluble substances, macromolecules, microparticles, etc. by means of vesicles developed by cytoplasmic membrane. Endocytosis in animal and human cells is actively and successfully studied. Thus, classification of this process in the animals (based only on the peculiarities of primary vesicle formation) includes up to ten different endocytosis pathways. Modern knowledge about endocytosis in mycelial fungi is not so extensive; therefore, its study in this group of organisms is a topical and promising direction in fundamental and applied mycology. In the present work, we studied the effect of six different inhibitors (acting both on the assembly of actin/tubulin cytoskeleton and on the formation of different types of endocytosis) on the dynamics of endocytosis in phytopathogenic heterobasidial fungus Rhizoctonia solani. The estimation of the effect of inhibitors was conducted by means of microscopic analysis of the absorption of the fluorescent marker of endocytosis AM4-64 by mycelial cells. As a result of the conducted study, four types of the inhibitor effect on the R. solani endocytosis were detected: from the complete absence of the effect to severe suppression of different stages of fungal endocytosis. It was found that four of six inhibitors used for the suppression of endocytosis in the animals and human have a suppressive effect on endocytosis of R. solani. This indicates the conservative nature of some endocytosis mechanisms in the studied fungus and probably in mycelial fungi in general. Different hypotheses concerning principles of the effect of studied inhibitors on endocytosis activity of fungi were suggested.