Mechanisms of Mutualism and Parasitism: Entomopathogenic Fungi, Insects, and Plants

使用能够杀死昆虫的有益微生物代表了化学农药的更环保和可持续的替代品。一种这样的微生物是昆虫病原性真菌球孢白僵菌，其已经商业化用于害虫控制应用。除了它们的能力，以昆虫为目标，B。球孢白僵菌还能与植物形成互惠关系，从而增加植物的生长和对昆虫的抵抗力。本项目旨在了解B之间相互作用的生物学（遗传学和生物化学）基础。巴西松、昆虫和植物。了解这一过程对有益与致病结果，环境微生物学和生态系统平衡具有重要意义。从该提案中获得的知识可用于提高使用微生物防治害虫和促进植物生长的有效性和安全性。这些相互作用为学生的实验室活动提供了一个很好的模型系统，这些活动涉及宿主-寄生虫生物学和进化，真菌和昆虫生理学，共生和互利共生的基本原理，以及科学方法的应用。该计划提供资源，课程开发，并在真菌学和昆虫学公民科学推广在K-12教室及以后使用。在高中，本科，研究生和博士后水平的培训是整合在该项目的科学和推广目标。丝状真菌是真核生物的一个主要的进化分支。几种基础真菌谱系是无脊椎动物的寄生虫，真菌-节肢动物相互作用代表了研究发病机制的古老范例。球孢白僵菌（Beauveriabassiana）是一种丝状真菌，是节肢动物的病原菌，与植物形成内生关系。这两个看似不同的相互作用提供了一个易于处理的系统，可以用来测试和挑战一些关于互利共生和寄生的进化和持久性的基本概念。我们的中心假设是在B中。bassiana、互惠共生和寄生共享潜在的分子决定因素。为了验证这一点，我们的研究旨在（a）进行病原昆虫相互作用和互惠植物相互作用之间的比较分子和生化分析，强调所涉及的转录和调控网络，和（B）发现B的其他分子决定因素。白僵菌的昆虫毒性和植物互惠关系，并检查各自的交叉贡献。这项工作将提供深入了解的因素，有助于在建立和/或维护过程中发生的权衡致病与互惠互利的结果在有机体的相互作用。 这些相互作用可用于开发增加真菌的害虫控制和/或植物生长促进潜力的新方法。从提案中获得的具体知识有助于理解两个广泛领域，这些领域涉及生物体如何保持表型可塑性和对显著不同的环境的敏感性：（a）宿主-病原体相互作用和宿主特异性，即涉及昆虫毒力的途径，和（B）互利相互作用，表征真菌导致内生菌建立的途径。

The use of beneficial microbes that are capable of killing insects represents a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides. One such microbe is the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana that has been commercialized for pest control applications. In addition to their ability to target insects, B. bassiana is also able to form mutualistic associations with plants, resulting in increased plant growth and resistance to insects. This project seeks to understand the biological (genetic and biochemical) basis for the interactions between B. bassiana, insects, and plants. Understanding this process has important implications in beneficial versus pathogenic outcomes, environmental microbiology, and ecosystem balance. Knowledge gained from the proposal can be used to improve the efficacy and safety of using microbes for pest control and plant growth promotion. These interactions present an excellent model system for student laboratory activities relating to fundamental principles of host-parasite biology and evolution, fungal and insect physiology, symbiosis and mutualism, and application of the scientific method. The program provides resources, curriculum development, and citizen science outreach in mycology and entomology for use in K-12 classrooms and beyond. Training at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels are integrated within the scientific and outreach goals of the project.Filamentous fungi are a major evolutionary branch of the eukaryotes. Several basal fungal lineages are parasites of invertebrates, and fungal-arthropod interactions represent ancient paradigms for examining pathogenesis. The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a pathogen of arthropods and forms endophytic relationships with plants. These two seemingly disparate interactions provide a tractable system with which to test and challenge some basic concepts regarding the evolution and persistence of mutualism and parasitism. Our central hypothesis is that in B. bassiana, mutualism and parasitism share underlying molecular determinants. To test this, our research aims to (a) perform a comparative molecular and biochemical analysis between the pathogenic insect interaction and the mutualistic plant interaction, emphasizing the transcriptional and regulatory networks involved, and (b) uncover additional molecular determinants of B. bassiana insect virulence and plant mutualism and examine their respective cross-contributions. This work would provide insight into the factors that contribute to trade-offs that occur during the establishment and/or maintenance of pathogenic versus mutualistic outcomes during organismal interactions. These interactions can be exploited to develop novel means of increasing the pest control and/or plant growth promotion potential of the fungus. Specific knowledge gained from the proposal aid understanding of two broad areas that address how organisms maintain phenotypic plasticity and sensitivity to dramatically different environments: (a) host-pathogen interactions and host-specificity, i.e. the pathways involved in insect virulence, and (b) mutualistic interactions, characterizing the pathways leading to endophyte establishment by the fungus.