U.S.-Australia Cooperative Research: Genetic and Molecular Characterization of Rhizoctonia Solani AG-3 and AG-8

9417839这项奖励将部分资助美国阿拉斯加州大学费尔班克斯分校植物、动物和土壤科学系唐纳德·E·卡林博士在澳大利亚休假期间的旅费和生活费。卡林博士将与位于西澳大利亚珀斯的默多克大学生物与环境科学学院的菲利普·奥布莱恩博士合作。这项研究将集中在寄生植物真菌立枯丝核菌的遗传和分子特征上。立枯丝核菌是一种重要的农作物病原菌，但对其遗传、致病特性和分子生物学研究较少。立枯丝核菌根据相关菌株的菌丝互连能力分为若干亚种群，称为接合群(AG)。将对在马铃薯和烟草上致病的立枯丝核菌AG-3以及对马铃薯和小麦根部致病或无毒的AG-8异核和同核分离物进行研究。奥布莱恩博士和他的同事们一直在研究立枯丝核菌的分子生物学，并完善了一种通过研究交配和不亲和系统的原生质体程序来产生同核分离物的技术。卡林博士和他的团队一直在积极研究新的吻合口分组。这项研究汇集了两个研究小组的互补技能。这项研究活动最终可能导致提高作物产量，同时使用更少的化学制剂来控制疾病。该奖项由美澳合作科学计划资助。***

9417839 Carling This award will partially support the travel and living expenses for Dr. Donald E. Carling, Department of Plant, Animal and Soil Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, while he is on sabbatical leave in Australia. Dr. Carling will be working in collaboration with Dr. Philip O'Brien of the School of Biological and Environmental Science at Murdoch University located in Perth, Western Australia. The research will focus on the genetic and molecular characterization of Rhizoctonia solani, a parasitic plant fungi. R. solani is an important pathogen among crop plants, yet little is known about its genetics, pathogenicity characteristics, and molecular biology. R.solani is divided into a number of subspecific groups called anastomosis groups (AG) based upon the ability of hyphae of related isolates to interconnect. Research will be conducted on collections of R. solani AG-3 that are virulent on potato and tobacco plants and on heterokaryotic and homokaryotic isolates of AG-8 that are either virulent or avirulent on the roots of potato and wheat plants. Dr. O'Brien and his colleagues have been studying the molecular biology of R. solani and have perfected a technique of generating homokaryotic isolates with a protoplast procedure used in studying mating and incompatibility systems. Dr. Carling and his group have been active in the characterization of new anastomosis groupings. The study brings together the complementary skills of the two research groups. The research activity could ultimately lead to increasing crop yields while using fewer chemical agents to control disease. The award is supported under the U.S.-Australia Cooperative Science Program. ***