Plant Pathogen Temperature Ecology.

真菌和卵菌植物病原体威胁全球粮食安全。作物感染风险在一定程度上是由温度和湿度决定的，气候变化将改变作物及其病原体的分布。改变病原体分布的数学模型通常隐含地假设真菌在未来将像现在一样对温度做出反应，而不会随着条件的变化而进化。然而，现有的少量研究表明，真菌可以迅速适应和进化，以抵御气候变暖。本专业将结合实验室实验和模型研究不同生物尺度上的植物病原体温度生态。关于植物病原体温度反应的变化，我们知道些什么？学生将对真菌和卵菌植物病原体的温度反应进行详细的文献调查。温度反应将在生命周期的不同阶段进行比较，学生将检验体外和植物温度反应不同的假设。学生将统计调查温度耐受性、寄主专一性、生物地理学和真菌进化关系之间的关系。在气候变化下，全球植物病原体感染风险将如何变化？该学生将利用已发表的真菌和卵菌感染温度响应来研究气温上升是否会在全球范围内转移感染风险。例如，气候变暖是否会导致疾病风险的增加或降低？如果是，在哪里？3.能否利用机械建模方法在空间和时间上预测小麦黑斑病(STB)的风险？学生将开发STB的实验参数机械学模型，并将模型预测与观察到的疾病风险进行比较。小麦酵母对实验室中不断升高的培养温度有何反应？学生将研究真菌培养所经历的变化，评估真菌生物学的分子和形态方面。在温度驯化和毒力之间是否存在权衡？进化论预测了对不同类型压力的反应之间的权衡。例如，对高温作出反应的病原菌感染寄主植物的能力可能较低。学生将测试在较高温度下生长的真菌分离物是否对小麦保持毒性。通过这个博士学位，学生将接受统计分析、生态和进化理论、疾病风险建模、植物病理学、微生物学和基本实验室技能方面的培训，并为气候变化科学和全球粮食安全做出重要贡献。

Fungal and oomycete plant pathogens threaten global food security. Crop infection risk is determined in part by temperature and moisture availability, and climate change will alter distributions of both crops and their pathogens. Mathematical models of changing pathogen distributions often implicitly assume that fungi will respond to temperature in the future much as they do now, with no evolution to changing conditions. However, a small amount of existing research has shown that fungi can acclimatize and evolve rapidly to withstand warming. This studentship will combine laboratory experiments and modelling to investigate plant pathogen temperature ecology across various biological scales.1. What is known about variation in plant pathogen temperature responses? The student will conduct a detailed literature survey of fungal and oomycete plant pathogen temperature responses. Temperature responses will be compared across life cycle stages, and the student will test the hypothesis that in vitro and in planta temperature responses differ. The student will statistically investigate the relationships between temperature tolerance, host specificity, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships among fungi.2. How will plant pathogen infection risk alter globally under climate change? The student will utilise published infection temperature responses for fungi and oomycetes to investigate whether increasing temperatures will shift infection risk at the global scale. For example, will warming result in increased or decreased disease risk, and if so, where? 3. Can a mechanistic modelling approach be utilised to predict Septoria tritici Blotch (STB) disease risk in space and time? The student will develop an experimentally-parametrised mechanistic model of STB and compare model predictions to observed disease risk.4. How does Zymoseptoria tritici respond to increasing culture temperatures in the lab? The student will investigate the changes undergone by fungal cultures, assessing molecular and morphological aspects of fungal biology.5. Is there a trade-off between temperature acclimation and virulence? Evolutionary theory predicts a trade-off between responses to different types of stress. For example, a pathogen responding to high temperature might be less able to infect the host plant. The student will test whether fungal isolates that have been acclimated to grow at higher temperatures retain virulence on wheat.Through this doctorate the student will receive training in statistical analysis, ecological and evolutionary theory, disease risk modelling, plant pathology, microbiology and fundamental lab skills, as well has making an important contribution to the science of climate change and global food security.