Pathogenic Gene Discovery and Elucidation of Genetic Regulatory Networks in the Rice Blast Fungus

为了成功地作为病原体，真菌必须使其代谢适应宿主内的营养物质，但对所涉及的遗传调控机制知之甚少。丝状子囊菌Magnaporthe nerve是稻瘟病的病原体，每年导致全球水稻产量减少10%至30%。传统的植物育种策略已无法遏制这种对全球粮食安全的严重威胁，然而，由于M.从米到分子分析，持久的控制策略可能会从更好地了解植物-真菌相互作用的分子和细胞过程中出现。本项目的目标是利用M.稻在水稻中发育的能力受损，无法解开控制水稻-真菌相互作用的基本细胞、生化和遗传调节机制。利用分子遗传学和生物化学技术，预计该项目将揭示关于M.这可能会揭示其他病原真菌的重要遗传控制途径。研究人员将促进致病基因发现过程作为一种工具，以培训学生和激励代表性不足的少数民族追求科学事业。我们的研究精神的核心将是本科生，研究生和代表性不足的高中学生和教师，代表社会的不同部分，整合到致病基因鉴定和表征的过程中。分枝水稻互动将被用来告知本科生的遗传学和生物化学的基本概念的重要性，让研究生和博士后研究人员发展为导师和教师，并涉及高中生在现实世界中的问题，通过他们的参与EPSCoR夏令营由PI监督，将激励他们从事科学事业。

To succeed as pathogens, fungi must adapt their metabolism to nutrient availability within the host, but little is known about the genetic regulatory mechanisms involved. The filamentous ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is the causal agent of rice blast disease, which annually results in a 10 to 30 percent reduction in global rice yield. Traditional plant breeding strategies have failed to contain this severe threat to global food security; however, because of the amenability of M. oryzae to molecular analysis, durable control strategies might emerge from a better understanding of the molecular and cellular processes underlying the plant-fungal interaction. The goal of this project is to use mutants of M. oryzae, impaired in their ability to develop in rice, to unlock the fundamental cellular, biochemical, and genetic regulatory mechanisms that govern the rice-fungus interaction. Using molecular genetics and biochemical techniques, it is expected that this project will reveal essential new knowledge about the integration of metabolism with gene expression in M. oryzae that will likely shed light on important genetic control pathways in other pathogenic fungi. The investigators will promote the pathogenic gene discovery process as a tool to train students and inspire underrepresented minorities to pursue a career in science. Central to our research ethos will be the integration of undergraduate, graduate, and underrepresented high school students and teachers, representing diverse sections of the community, into the process of pathogenic gene identification and characterization. The M. oryzae- rice interaction will be used to inform undergraduate students of the importance of fundamental concepts in genetics and biochemistry, to allow graduate students and postdoctoral research associates to develop as mentors and teachers, and to involve high school students in real-world problems that, through their participation in EPSCoR summer camps supervised by the PI, will inspire them to undertake a career in science.