Evolutionary Genetics of Morphogenetic Regulatory Systems in Fungi

真菌形态发生调控系统的进化本奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。真菌代表了一大群真核生物，它们表现出各种各样的细胞形状，从高度细长的霉菌到卵形酵母。多个真菌基因组测序项目的结果强烈表明，这种多样性可归因于指定生长地点和时间的调节机制。虽然这些机制在酵母中已经被很好地理解，但它们是否或如何在霉菌中起作用尚不清楚。因此，本项目的目标是在一组对人类福利有显著影响的不同模式中描述这些机制中的一种。该项目将利用比较遗传和分子方法，依赖于最近开发的实验工具，以促进对霉菌基因功能的理解。预期的结果包括：酵母细胞形状调控的遗传途径在决定霉菌生长模式和孢子形成方面具有更广泛的祖先作用。预计该项目将产生两个关键的科学影响。首先，生物学家将进一步了解真菌细胞的形状是如何形成的，以及其基本原理是否与动物和植物有共同的特征。其次，由于特定细胞形状的形成在很大程度上决定了真菌产生有价值的化合物（如药物和食品添加剂）和引起疾病（如重要作物的感染）的能力，因此更好地操纵真菌为我们自己的利益服务将成为可能。该项目的广泛影响包括对微生物学和基因组学学科的研究生、本科生和高中生进行严格的培训。

Steven D. Harris IOS-0920504 Evolution of morphogenetic regulatory systems in fungiThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The fungi represent a large group of eukaryotic organisms that exhibit a diverse array of cell shapes ranging from highly elongated molds to ovoid yeasts. Results from multiple fungal genome sequencing projects strongly suggest that this diversity is attributable to regulatory mechanisms that specify where and when growth occurs. Although these mechanisms are reasonably well understood in yeasts, it is not known whether or how they might function in molds. Accordingly, the objective of this project is to characterize one of these mechanisms in a divergent set of molds that have a pronounced impact on human welfare. The project will utilize a comparative genetic and molecular approach that relies upon recently developed experimental tools that facilitate the understanding of gene function in molds. Expected results include the demonstration that genetic pathways involved in the regulation of cell shape in yeasts have a broader ancestral role in determining patterns of growth and spore formation in molds. Two key scientific impacts are expected to emerge from this project. First, biologists will acquire an improved understanding of how cell shape is generated in fungi and whether the underlying principles share any features in common with animals and plants. Second, because the formation of specific cell shapes largely determines the capacity of fungi to produce valuable compounds (such as pharmaceuticals and food additives) and to cause disease (such as infections of important crops), it will become possible to better manipulate fungi to our own benefit. Broader impacts of this project include the rigorous training of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in the disciplines of microbiology and genomics.