Discovering the molecular and proteomic interactions between genus-specific mycoparasites and fungal plant-pathogens

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In agriculture and forestry, chemical pesticides and genetically engineered plants incite public concerns. A solution is the introduction of biological control means to manage outbreaks of plant diseases while protecting the environment and food safety. This program offers new avenues for the creation of unique and more efficacious, Canadian biopesticides against Fusarium plant pathogens and its mycotoxins based on Sphaerodes mycoparasitica biotrophic mycoparasite -a novel species recently discovered by this laboratory. Although parallel phylogenetic analyses based on SSU and LSU rDNA show evolution of a group of mycoparasitic Sphaerodes species from non-mycoparasitic ancestors, no clear evidence of coevolution, or cospeciation between known Sphaerodes (Ascomycetes, Melanosporales) and their Fusarium (Ascomycetes, Hypocreales) hosts has been described. The covolution driving factor(s) as well as fungus-fungus interaction throughout the mycopathogenic processes demand clarification. Specific goals are to understand i) the evolution and specialization of the biotrophic mycoparasite by assessing the role of Fusarium hydrophobic, extra- and intracellular biomolecules; to discover ii) the pathogenesis-related genes and proteins of the mycoparasite; and to characterize Fusarium defense-related gene expressions, including Tri and PKS genes. Considering the relatedness of Fusarium-specific Sphaerodes taxa, it would be interesting to explore whether the nature of fusaria toxins creates an evolutionary pressure inducing specialization within Sphaerodes. Using high-throughput molecular, microscopic, and proteomic tools with culture dependent and culture-independent assays, biotrophic mycoparasites of Fusarium species will be examined to assess their impact on Fusarium disease development and mycotoxin accumulation in natural samples. Numerous training opportunities for highly qualified personnel exist within the outlined program. The program offers a new dimension for the Canadian biocontrol science: biotrophic mycoparasites against plant pathogens.