Aims: Rice blast, a disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea is one of the serious diseases of rice in the world. The main objective of this study is to isolate and characterise the proteins extracted from the rice blast fungus, M. grisea 7.6.
Methodology and results: Through comparative 2-D analyses of the crude protein extracts obtained from this fungus, we were able to identify 88 protein spots through MALDI-TOF. These proteins were then classified into 8 functional groups through the Pfam and KEGG databases into hypothetical, transferases, energy and carbon metabolism, oxidoreductases, molecular chaperone, hydrolases, structural organisation and kinases. The individual protein’s functions were then identified and their possible role in pathogenesis, virulence and proliferation of M. grisea 7.6 were predicted. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Through the assays conducted, we were able to identify some proteins and pathways that could be targeted in developing fungicides and used in future mutagenesis studies.

Keywords: Magnaporthe grisea, protein, elicitor, proliferation, stress