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

在所有生物中，真菌是研究多样性最少的生物之一，目前已知的真菌大约只有10%。对于白粉病来说尤其如此；这是世界上最常见但研究最少的植物真菌病原体之一。白粉病尤其重要，因为它们对经济上重要的农作物造成严重损害，如蓝莓、啤酒花、豌豆、草莓、小麦和酿酒葡萄。白粉病通常是宿主特异性的，但目前尚不清楚哪种白粉病是一些最重要的农作物的致病因子。此外，对于非专业人士来说，很难确定公开数据库中哪些序列、鉴定和物种名称是可靠的。准确鉴定植物病原体是很重要的，因为特定的物种往往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鉴定手册，使世界各地的科学家、农民和园艺师能够准确地识别白粉病。这将有助于实际应用以及广泛学科的研究，包括植物病理学、进化生物学、真菌学和系统学。通过获得特别毒力强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，我们将组建和培养一支由本科生、研究生和博士后组成的研究团队。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，我们将在人员选择过程中强调多样性和包容性。白粉病（Erysiphaceae）是生态和经济上重要的不可培养的植物真菌病原体，据报道，全世界有超过10,000种开花植物被感染。白粉病无处不在，种类繁多，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个物种。相比之下，在北美10个植物园的初步研究发现了约130种，其中约30种是以前未知的。在野外、植物园和植物标本室的持续探索将为真菌学和植物病理群落提供有价值的信息。我们建议鉴定，序列和系统发育研究来自整个北美的各种各样的白粉病。项目的主要目标是：(1)获取分子序列数据，以填补现有的丹药科系统发育的空白；(2)对多个基因组区域进行测序，以获得更高水平的分类分辨率，并解决迄今为止在该真菌类群中尚未解决的常见物种复合体；(3)撰写了第一部关于北美丹参科植物的综合性专著；(4)建立一个网站，以电子方式向科学界和一般公众传播汇编的数据。本研究将为今后对丹参科植物的进一步研究奠定基础。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.