Messenger RNA Regulation During Oomycete Sexual Development

这项研究将分析真菌样微生物致病疫霉的性周期，致病疫霉是卵菌纲的低等真核生物群的一员。 这一组包括许多物种是非常重要的植物病原体，其中有性孢子通常作为疾病流行的主要接种物。 该项目解决的中心问题是如何调控性发育所需的基因和蛋白质的表达模式。 将采用分子遗传学和生物化学策略的组合。 这些将涉及驱动交配特异性基因表达的启动子序列的分析;通过与其启动子结合来调节基因的蛋白质的分析;以及被认为通过与特异性RNA转录物结合来控制信使RNA翻译成蛋白质的蛋白质的分析。 因此，这项工作应确定转录和转录后的调控机制，是必不可少的性孢子的形成和/或萌发疫霉及其亲属。 这些发现将阐明这一鲜为人知但在经济和环境上具有重要意义的生物群体的生物学，并有助于表明调控机制如何在不同的真核生物中进化。 调节有性孢子发育的蛋白质也可以作为预防疾病的新策略的目标，例如通过使用阻止孢子形成的抑制剂。 该项目的另一个重要目标将通过培训本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员来实现，从而帮助该国发展科学劳动力。

This research will analyze the sexual cycle of the fungus-like microbe Phytophthora infestans, which is a member of the lower eukaryotic group known as oomycetes. This group includes many species that are extremely important plant pathogens, in which sexual spores commonly serve as the primary inoculum for disease epidemics. The central issue addressed by this project concerns how the expression patterns of genes and proteins needed for sexual development are regulated. A combination of molecular genetic and biochemical strategies will be employed. These will involve analyses of promoter sequences that drive the expression of mating-specific genes; of proteins that regulate the genes by binding to their promoters; and of proteins that are believed to control the translation of messenger RNA into protein by binding to specific RNA transcripts. This work should therefore identify both transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that are essential for the formation and/or germination of sexual spores by Phytophthora and its relatives. Such findings will illuminate the biology of this little-understood but economically and environmentally important group of organisms, and help indicate how regulatory mechanisms have evolved in diverse eukaryotes. Proteins that regulate sexual spore development may also serve as targets for new strategies for preventing disease, for example by using inhibitors that block spore formation. Another important objective of this project will be fulfilled through its training of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, thereby aiding in the development of a scientific workforce for the country.