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: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=546942
• 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.

维护健康的森林对我们的环境和经济至关重要，因此了解可能损害这一宝贵资源的蓝染真菌和真菌病原体的生物学和生物多样性极其重要。由于以昆虫为媒介的真菌，例如蛇口属和角囊菌（许多是蓝染真菌），由于新的树皮甲虫物种的到来，这些真菌的问题越来越严重。就山松甲虫而言，与某些Ophistoma物种的共生关系实际上使甲虫能够成功克服树木的抵抗机制。该研究计划的重点是蓝染真菌的分类和进化。表征蓝染真菌的线粒体基因组是该计划长期目标的一部分。目标是了解遗传元件（例如线粒体基因组 (mtDNA) 内的移动元件）的起源和持久性，并检查这些遗传元件对 mtDNA 稳定性和这些树木病原体的毒力的影响。此外，这些移动元件有时会编码罕见的 DNA 切割酶（核酸内切酶），这些酶可应用于基因组学和生物技术；该研究将寻找线粒体归巢核酸内切酶，然后对其进行生化检查，并尝试解决它们与其他线粒体 DNA 移动元件（如 I 组或 II 组内含子）的关系。