Summary The splicing factor Cwf15 is an essential component of the Prp19‐associated component of the spliceosome and regulates intron splicing in several model species, including yeasts and human cells. However, the roles of Cwf15 remain unexplored in plant pathogenic fungi. Here, we report that MoCWF15 in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is non‐essential to viability and important to fungal virulence, growth and conid...

Summary In Magnaporthe oryzae , the Mst11‐Mst7‐Pmk1 MAP kinase pathway is essential for appressorium formation and invasive growth. To determine their roles in Pmk1 activation and plant infection, we characterized the two thioredoxin genes, TRX1 and TRX2 , in M. oryzae . Whereas the Δ trx1 mutants had no detectable phenotypes, deletion of TRX2 caused pleiotropic defects in growth, conidiation, light sensing, responses to stres...