EAPSI: Organization and Flow of Components Involved in Growth and Disease Development in Fungi

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Fungi are the most economically important pathogens of crops. In particular, the rice blast disease results in losses of nearly $5 billion each year worldwide. China is the epicenter of this disease, and is investing many resources to combat it. The fungus that causes this disease penetrates and colonizes rice in a precise way that is not quite understood. This project will use high resolution microscopy to examine how proteins and other molecules are dynamically organized in growing fungal cells as well as in the infection structures of the rice blast pathogen, which will provide insight into future treatments of all fungal infections. It will be carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Zonghua Wang at the Fuzhou Agricultural & Forestry University in Fuzhou, Fujian, China, and will assist in developing a permanent collaboration between the host and the proposer?s institutions based on shared research goals. Fungi, including pathogens of plants and animals, generally colonize through the production of threadlike cells that grow at their tips, and are excellent models of cell growth. In recent years, genetic and live-cell microscopy techniques have converged to allow careful measurements of the movement of subcellular components. This project will bridge basic cell biology and molecular plant pathology to view the flow of proteins and lipids in fungal cells. Specifically, it is known that at least two separate secretory pathways exist that support fungal growth and pathogenicity, and to examine the differential dynamics of these pathways, photobleaching experiments will be performed on representative proteins from each route. Additionally, a specific lipid known to be involved in growth and development of fungi will be tracked, using a fluorescent marker, in infection structures of the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, to further previous research indicating that the distribution of this lipid may be crucial for the infection process of this organism. This NSF EAPSI award supports the research of a U.S. graduate student and is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.