CsSNF1 kinase plays important roles in fungal development and virulence of the pepper anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum scovillei

Abstract Pepper is a vegetable that is used and cultivated worldwide. The quality and production of pepper are reduced by fruit anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum scovillei . The highly conserved fungal sucrose non‐fermenting 1 (SNF1)‐related AMPK protein kinases are implicated in the pathogenicity and differentiation of several destructive foliar fungal pathogens; in addition, they affect fungal growth in the presence of glucose at different concentrations and under different environmental stresses. However, the function of SNF1 in C . scovillei is unclear. We functionally characterized SNF1 of C . scovillei using a targeted deletion mutant (Δ Cssnf1 ) generated by homology‐dependent replacement. Δ Cssnf1 was severely impaired in mycelial growth under glucose‐limited conditions; multiple defects in conidiation, conidial germination, appressorium formation, lipid degradation and vacuole formation were also observed. Compared to the wild type, Δ Cssnf1 caused anthracnose disease of reduced severity on intact and wounded pepper fruits. These defects were recovered in the complemented strain ( Cssnf1c ). Taken together, our findings implicate CsSNF1 in the growth, development and virulence of C . scovillei .