Mobile introns and homing endonucleases genes in the mtDNA of fungi

真菌线粒体 DNA 中的移动内含子和归巢核酸内切酶基因

• 批准号: 238289-2010
• 负责人: Hausner, Georg
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=454856
• 关键词: Mobile; introns; homing; endonucleases; genes

Maintaining healthy forests is vital to our environment and economy, thus understanding the biology and biodiversity of blue-stain fungi and fungal pathogens that can damage this valuable resource is extremely important. Insect vectored fungi such as species of Ophiostoma and Ceratocystis (many are blue-stain fungi) are increasingly more problematic due to the arrival of new bark-beetle species that vector these fungi. In the case of the Mountain Pine Beetle, symbiotic relationships with certain species of Ophistoma actually make it possible for the beetle to successfully overcome the tree's resistance mechanisms. This research program focuses on the taxonomy and evolution of blue-stain fungi. Characterizing mitochondrial genomes of blue-stain fungi is part of the long term objectives of this program. The goal is to understand the origin and persistence of genetic elements such as mobile elements within mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) and examine implications these genetic elements have on mtDNA stability and on the virulence of these tree pathogens. In addition these mobile elements sometimes encode rare cutting DNA enzymes (endonucleases) that have application in genomics and biotechnology; the study will search for and then biochemically examine mitochondrial homing endonucleases and try to resolve their relationships to other mtDNA mobile elements such as group I or group II introns.

保持健康的森林对我们的环境和经济至关重要，因此了解可能破坏这一宝贵资源的蓝变真菌和真菌病原体的生物学和生物多样性极其重要。由于新的树皮甲虫物种的到来，昆虫载体真菌，如Ophiostoma和Ceratocystis（许多是蓝变真菌）越来越多的问题。在山松甲虫的情况下，与某些种类的Ophistoma的共生关系实际上使甲虫有可能成功地克服树木的抵抗机制。本研究计划主要研究蓝变真菌的分类和进化。蓝变真菌的线粒体基因组特征是该计划长期目标的一部分。目的是了解线粒体基因组（mtDNA）内遗传元件（如移动的元件）的起源和持久性，并研究这些遗传元件对mtDNA稳定性和这些树木病原体的毒力的影响。此外，这些移动的元件有时编码在基因组学和生物技术中有应用的罕见的切割DNA酶（内切核酸酶）;该研究将寻找并然后生化检查线粒体归巢内切核酸酶，并试图解决它们与其他mtDNA移动的元件如I组或II组内含子的关系。