ARTS: A North American monograph of the powdery mildews (Erysiphaceae)

在所有生物体中，真菌在多样性方面研究最少，目前已知的现有真菌约只有10%。这对于白粉病尤其如此;这些是世界上最常见但研究最少的真菌植物病原体之一。白粉病是特别重要的，因为它们对经济上重要的农作物，如蓝莓、啤酒花、豌豆、草莓、小麦和酿酒葡萄造成严重损害。白粉病通常是宿主特异性的，但目前还不清楚哪些白粉病物种是甚至一些最重要的农作物上的致病因子。此外，对于非专业人员来说，很难确定公共数据库中的哪些序列、标识和物种名称是可靠的。植物病原体的准确鉴定是重要的，因为特定的物种通常需要不同的控制方法和应用。在这项工作中，我们将开发一个公开的在线白粉病识别手册，使世界各地的科学家，农民和园艺家能够准确识别。这将有助于实际应用以及在广泛的学科，包括植物病理学，进化生物学，真菌学和系统学的研究。通过获得特别致命的入侵物种的额外序列数据，这项工作也将有助于更好地了解病原体如何入侵新环境。为了完成这个项目，我们将集合和培养一个本科生，研究生和博士后研究人员的团队。真菌生物学在历史上未能招募到多样化的研究人员。考虑到这一点，我们将在人员选拔过程中强调多样性和包容性。白粉病是一种重要的不可培养的植物病原真菌，在世界范围内可侵染10,000多种开花植物。白粉病是普遍存在的，物种丰富，估计有906种。虽然它们是世界上最常见的植物病原体之一，但对北美许多种类的白粉病进行的研究很少。美国唯一的清单于1989年出版，包括约70种。相比之下，对北美10个植物园的初步研究发现了约130种植物，其中约30种是以前未知的。在野外、植物园和植物标本馆的继续探索将为真菌学和植物病理学社区提供有价值的信息。我们建议确定，序列和遗传学调查的各种各样的白粉病从整个北美。该项目的主要目标是：（1）获取分子序列数据，填补白粉菌科真菌发生学的空白;（2）对多个基因组区域进行测序，以获得更高水平的分类学分辨率，并解决该真菌群中迄今尚未解决的共同物种复合体;（3）撰写北美白粉菌科的第一部综合专著;（4）建立一个网站，以电子方式向科学界和公众传播汇编的数据。我们的研究将为今后对白粉菌科的研究奠定基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Of all organisms, fungi are among the least studied in terms of diversity, with approximately only 10% of existing fungi currently known. This is especially true for powdery mildews; these are one of the world’s most common and yet least studied fungal plant pathogens. Powdery mildews are particularly important because they cause serious damage to economically important agricultural crops, such as blueberries, hops, peas, strawberries, wheat, and wine grapes. Powdery mildews are often host specific, but it is unclear which powdery mildew species are the causal agents of disease on even some of the most important agricultural crops. Additionally, for non-specialists it is difficult to ascertain which sequences, identifications, and species names on publicly available databases are reliable. Accurate identification of plant pathogens is important because particular species often require different control methods and applications. In this work, we will develop a publicly available online powdery mildew identification manual allowing accurate identification for scientists, farmers, and horticulturalists around the world. This will contribute to practical applications as well as research in a wide range of disciplines, including plant pathology, evolutionary biology, mycology, and systematics. By obtaining additional sequence data for particularly virulent, invasive species, this work will also contribute to a better understanding of how pathogens invade new environments. To accomplish this project, we will assemble and train a team of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. Fungal biology has historically failed to recruit diverse researchers. With this in mind, we will highlight diversity and inclusion in our personnel selection process. Powdery mildews (Erysiphaceae) are ecologically and economically important unculturable fungal plant pathogens that have been reported to infect over 10,000 flowering plant species worldwide. Powdery mildews are ubiquitous and speciose with an estimated 906 species. Although they are one of the world’s most common plant pathogens, little research has been conducted on the many species of powdery mildews in North America. The only checklist in the United States was published in 1989 and included ~70 species. In contrast, preliminary research at 10 botanical gardens across North America revealed ~130 species, ~30 that were previously unknown. Continued exploration in the field, in botanical gardens and in herbaria will contribute valuable information to the mycological and plant pathological communities. We propose to identify, sequence and phylogenetically investigate the diverse array of powdery mildews from throughout North America. The following objectives will be the focus of the project: (1) To acquire molecular sequence data to fill existing gaps in the Erysiphaceae phylogeny, (2) To sequence multiple genomic regions to obtain higher level taxonomic resolution and resolve common species complexes, which have so far been unresolved in this fungal group; (3) To write the first comprehensive monograph of the Erysiphaceae of North America; (4) To develop a website to electronically disseminate the compiled data to the scientific and general public. Our research will form a foundation for future studies on the Erysiphaceae.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.