Collaborative Research: Signal Perception and Cellular Mechanisms Governing Oxylipin Mediated Maize - Fungal Crosstalk

宿主和病原体之间的小分子交换是两个生物体细胞决定的核心，导致相容(即疾病)或不相容(即抗性)的相互作用。这些分子中的一个子集是由两个生物体中保守的加氧酶产生的含氧脂(加氧脂)。具有智力和潜在经济意义的是，研究人员最近发现，玉米和真菌的挥发性和非挥发性氧脂在黄曲霉的真菌生长、孢子和毒素生产中发挥着关键作用。黄曲霉是一种主要的种子感染真菌，产生致癌真菌毒素黄曲霉毒素。我们的中心假设是真菌和植物诱导、拦截和识别彼此的氧磷脂，这些相互作用直接影响宿主-病原体相互作用的结果。本项目的总体目标是阐明在玉米和黄曲霉中控制氧脂调节和感知的分子、生化和细胞机制。通过在这两种生物中使用氧脂突变体，研究人员将评估这些脂类分子在种子定植、真菌发育和黄曲霉毒素产生中的作用。他们还将测试玉米氧磷脂被黄曲霉G蛋白偶联受体感知以调节发病过程的假设。这一结果将产生基于脂质的跨王国信号交流的确凿证据，该信号交流支配宿主-病原体相互作用的结果。这些结果将对参与研究植物-昆虫、动物-和人类-病原体相互作用中的串扰信号的科学界具有重要意义。该项目的更广泛影响包括将真菌毒素抗性纳入商业种质所需的洞察力，对普通公众、种业、玉米种植者和育种者具有直接意义的进展。该项目的一个关键组成部分是在植物和真菌遗传学、分子生物学和脂类生物化学等跨学科领域培训研究生和博士后，并在实验室和课堂环境中指导本科生。

Exchange of small molecules between host and pathogen lies at the heart of cellular decisions in both organisms that result in either compatible (i.e. disease) or incompatible (i.e. resistance) interactions. A subset of these molecules are oxygenated lipids (oxylipins) produced by conserved oxygenases in both organisms. Of intellectual and potential economical significance is the investigators' recent discovery that maize and fungal volatile and non-volatile oxylipins play a pivotal role in fungal growth, spore and toxin production by Aspergillus flavus, a major seed infecting fungus that produces the carcinogenic mycotoxin aflatoxin. Our central hypothesis is that fungi and plants induce, intercept and recognize each others oxylipins and that these interactions direct the outcome of the host-pathogen interaction. The overall goal of this project is to elucidate molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms governing oxylipin regulation and perception in both maize and A. flavus. By using oxylipin mutants in both organisms, the investigators will assess the role of these lipid molecules in seed colonization, fungal development and aflatoxin production. They will also test the hypothesis that maize oxylipins are perceived by A. flavus G-protein coupled receptors to modulate pathogenesis processes. The results will generate conclusive evidence of cross kingdom lipid-based signaling communication that governs the outcomes of host-pathogen interactions. These results will be of significance to the scientific community involved in studies of cross-talk signaling in plant-insect, animal- and human-pathogen interactions. The broader impacts of this project include insights required for the incorporation of mycotoxin resistance into commercial germplasm, an advance of immediate significance for the general public, seed industry, maize growers and breeders. A key component of this project is to train graduate students and postdocs in cross-disciplinary fields of plant and fungal genetics, molecular biology and lipid biochemistry and mentoring of undergraduates in laboratory and class settings.