{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T13:52:22Z","timestamp":1791381142242,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000199","name":"U.S. Department of Agriculture","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["6040-42000-046-000D"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["6040-42000-046-000D"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000199","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Appl Environ Microbiol"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Maize produces pre-formed secondary metabolites with antimicrobial and invertebrate anti-herbivory properties.\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Fusarium verticillioides<\/jats:italic>\n                      , a mycotoxigenic maize pathogen, detoxifies the maize phytoanticipin 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA) through gene action of\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FvMBL1,<\/jats:italic>\n                      which encodes a putative metallo-\u03b2-lactamase within the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FDB1<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene cluster. This cluster is also present in other maize-colonizing fungi, including the pathogen\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Colletotrichum graminicola<\/jats:italic>\n                      and, as reported here, the protective endophyte\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Sarocladium zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                      , which exhibits antagonistic activity against mycotoxigenic fungi. The role of the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FvMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      ortholog in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">S. zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                      , designated\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      , was assessed by gene deletion and add-back complementation. Deletion of\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      rendered\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">S. zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                      incapable of degrading BOA and therefore unable to grow on BOA-amended medium, whereas complemented add-back strains restored BOA tolerance and, in some cases, enhanced growth at higher concentrations of BOA. Quantitative PCR analyses revealed higher copy numbers and expression levels in all add-back transformants relative to the wild type, consistent with their enhanced growth. HPLC-MS\/MS analysis further showed that\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      hydrolyzes BOA, ultimately resulting in biotransformation into the non-toxic metabolite\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N<\/jats:italic>\n                      -(2-hydroxyphenyl)malonamic acid (HPMA). Together, this study confirms the conserved function of the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene involved in BOA detoxification. This study suggests that the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FDB1<\/jats:italic>\n                      gene cluster, harboring\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                      in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">S. zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                      , was likely transferred through horizontal gene transfer between maize-colonizing fungi and plays a role in the degradation of host-derived secondary metabolites that function as filters limiting which fungi are most frequently associated with maize.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:sec>\n                      <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                      <jats:p>\n                        Maize produces secondary metabolites such as 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA) to help protect against microbes and insects. The pathogenic\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Fusarium verticillioides<\/jats:italic>\n                        carries\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FvMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                        , a gene within the\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FDB1<\/jats:italic>\n                        gene cluster that helps break down BOA. This cluster is also present in other maize-associated fungi such as\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Colletotrichum graminicola<\/jats:italic>\n                        and, as reported here, the protective fungus\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Sarocladium zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                        . In our experiments, when a gene similar to\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FvMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                        , denoted\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                        , is deleted in\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">S. zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                        , the fungus could no longer break down BOA or grow on BOA-amended medium. Complementation restored BOA tolerance and growth phenotypes. Notably, some\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">S. zeae<\/jats:italic>\n                        add-back strains showed increased growth at higher BOA concentrations. Our analysis showed that these hypertolerant complemented strains had multiple, transcriptionally active copies of\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                        . The study highlights the role of\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SzMBL1<\/jats:italic>\n                        in BOA detoxification, thereby aiding fungal tolerance to antimicrobial compounds, and supports the hypothesis that the\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">FDB1<\/jats:italic>\n                        gene cluster can be horizontally transferred among maize-colonizing fungi.\n                      <\/jats:p>\n                    <\/jats:sec>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.01257-26","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T13:00:59Z","timestamp":1791378059000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["<i>SzMBL1<\/i>\n                    , a metallo-\u03b2-lactamase gene in\n                    <i>Sarocladium zeae<\/i>\n                    , confers tolerance to the maize phytoanticipin 2-benzoxazolinone"],"prefix":"10.1128","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5853-4924","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ni\u00f1o R.","family":"Laurel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02bjhwk41","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Garett T.","family":"Hibbs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02bjhwk41","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1404-3461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timothy R.","family":"Satterlee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"USDA, ARS, US National Poultry Research Center, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6177-8918","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Trevor R.","family":"Mitchell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"USDA, ARS, US National Poultry Research Center, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8461-424X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paul M.","family":"Severns","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02bjhwk41","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8329-1306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anthony E.","family":"Glenn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"USDA, ARS, US National Poultry Research Center, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Scott E.","family":"Gold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"USDA, ARS, US National Poultry Research Center, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit","place":["Athens, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"suffix":"Jr.","given":"Robert C.","family":"Kemerait","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02bjhwk41","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia","place":["Tifton, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"235","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/07060660809507540"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocontrol.2020.104329"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1008595"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1094\/PHYTO-99-1-0109"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/jf073274f"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0953756205002820"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_2","volume-title":"Ecology of corn stalk rot in Nebraska","author":"Sumner DR","year":"1967","unstructured":"Sumner DR. 1967. 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