摘要:SummaryMetabolic switching and rewiring play a dynamic role in programmed cell differentiation. Many pathogenic microbes need to survive in nutrient-deficient conditions and use the glyoxylate cycle, an anaplerotic pathway of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, to produce carbohydrates. The plant pathogenic fungusMagnaporthe oryzae(Pyricularia oryzae) has a unique chitin deacetylase, Cbp1. The spatiotemporal activity of this protein is required for modification of theM. oryzaewall and for cell differentiation into the specialized infection structure (appressorium). Here we show that acetic acid, another product released by the Cbp1-catalyzed conversion of chitin into chitosan, induces appressorium formation. An extremely low concentration (fM) of acetic acid restored cell differentiation in a Δcbp1mutant possibly through the glyoxylate cycle.Graphical AbstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Acidification occurred by chitin deacetylase activity during cell differentiation•Extremely low concentrations of exogenous acetic acid stimulated cell differentiation•Exogenous acetic acid inducedICL1expression, a member of the glyoxylate cycle•Deletion ofICL1inhibited acetic acid-mediated cell differentiationBiological Sciences; Plant Biology; Interaction of Plants with Organisms; Molecular Plant Pathology; Plant Pathology