Genetic and Evolutionary Consequences of Intra-Tetrad Selfing in the Anther-Smut Fungus

大多数病原真菌在其生命周期中有两个阶段。 一个阶段是由受精产生的，具有来自双亲的染色体，而另一个阶段是由类似于配子形成的机制产生的，因此只有一半的染色体数量（单倍体阶段）。 通常，这两个阶段导致疾病的程度不同。 本研究利用分子生物学和其他实验研究，探讨疾病生态和遗传结构的植物病原真菌，避免了一种特殊的交配（内四分体自交）的单倍体阶段之间的联系。 本研究将使用花药黑穗病菌Microbotryum violaceum作为一个研究良好的模式系统。四分体内自交也发生在广泛的生物体中，包括商业和科学上有价值的真菌，植物和昆虫（如酵母和果蝇），但其后果从未被经验探索过。 因此，拟议的研究将与了解这种育种系统的物种遗传变异和致病性变化的可能新机制有关。

Most pathogenic fungi have two stages in their lifecycle. One stage is produced by fertilization and has chromosomes from both parents, whereas the other stage is produced by mechanisms similar to gamete formation, and therefore has only half the number of chromosomes (the haploid stage). Often, the two stages differ in the degree to which they cause disease. This study uses molecular biology and other experimental studies to explore the link between disease ecology and genetic structure of a plant pathogenic fungus where the haploid stage is avoided by a special kind of mating (intra-tetrad selfing). This study will use the anther-smut fungus, Microbotryum violaceum, as a well-studied model system.Intra-tetrad selfing also occurs in a wide range of organism, including commercially and scientifically valuable fungi, plants, and insects (e.g. yeasts and fruit flies), but its consequences have never been explored empirically. The proposed research will therefore have relevance for understanding genetic variation in species with this breeding system and possible novel mechanisms for changes in pathogenic virulence.