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。一个阶段是通过受精产生的，具有来自双亲的染色体，而另一个阶段是通过类似配子形成的机制产生的，因此只有染色体数量的一半(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来探索植物病原真菌的疾病生态和遗传结构之间的联系，其中单倍体阶段通过一种特殊的交配(四分体内自交)来避免。本研究将花药黑粉菌Microbotryum Violaceum作为一个研究广泛的模式系统。内四分体自交也存在于广泛的生物体中，包括具有商业和科学价值的真菌、植物和昆虫(例如酵母和果蝇)，但其后果从未被经验地探索过。因此，这项拟议的研究将对了解具有这种育种系统的物种的遗传变异以及致病毒力变化的可能新机制具有重要意义。

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.