The Histone Acetyltransferase CgHat1 Regulates Growth, Development, and Pathogenicity of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

<i>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</i> causes anthracnose on a wide range of plants, resulting in serious economic losses worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathogenicity still remain largely unknown. In the past 20 years, the importance of acetylation/deacetylation modification in the pathogenicity of phytopathogens has already been highlighted, but how it functions in <i>C. gloeosporioides</i> is obscure. Here, we identified and functionally characterized a histone acetyltransferase CgHat1 in <i>C. gloeosporioides</i>. As suspected, CgHat1 is localized to the nucleus and regulates the acetylation levels of histone H4K5 and H4K12. Targeted gene deletion revealed that CgHat1 plays crucial roles in growth, colony pigmentation, and conidiation. Furthermore, we provided evidence showing that Δ<i>Cghat1</i> mutant is defective in conidial germination, appressorial formation, and response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. These combined effects lead to the decreased pathogenicity of Δ<i>Cghat1</i> mutant. Our studies not only firstly shed light on the pleiotropic roles of histone acetyltransferase in <i>C. gloeosporioides</i>, but also offer a potential fungicide target for anthracnose control.