黄栌枯萎病菌微菌核和寄生植物维管束系统是其难以有效控制的根本原因，该病菌如何精确调控微菌核形成及侵染过程的营养适应性是阐明其致病成灾机制的关键科学问题。碳代谢阻遏途径在真菌营养适应和病害发生中发挥重要调节作用，我们前期研究发现了黄栌枯萎病菌在缺碳氮营养时微菌核形成相关基因和糖代谢途径受到明显抑制。本项目拟采用遗传学、生物化学和功能基因学方法研究碳代谢阻遏途径调控黄栌枯萎病菌微菌核形成、营养胁迫反应以及致病性的生物学功能与作用机理，重点解析核心组分基因Tps1及CreA转录因子家族对碳代谢阻遏途径调控的分子网络；通过鉴定关键转录因子的下游靶标基因，并获得双敲除突变体，明确基因间遗传关系和关联新机制；借助组学技术鉴定碳代谢阻遏途径与其他信号途径间交叉对话的分子基础。研究结果将阐述轮枝菌微菌核形成与侵染过程中的营养代谢调控机制，对揭示轮枝菌与寄主互作的分子基础及枯萎病成灾机制具有重要的理论意义。

Verticillium dahliae is the causal agent of smoke tree vascular wilt, which poses a major threat to the famous “red-leaf” scenery of the Fragrant Hills Park in Beijing. V. dahliae produces multicelled and parasite into plant vascular system. These features represent major barriers to combat the wilt disease. Understanding the genetic pathways that regulate how pathogenic fungi respond to their environment is a key scientific issue. Carbon catabolite repression is a global regulatory mechanism found in a wide range of microbial organisms that ensures the preferential utilization of glucose over less favorable carbon sources, our previous study showed that genes involved in glucose metabolism and microsclerotia formation were obviously suppressed under carbon/nitrogen depleted conditions. Therefore, this proposal will study the role of carbon catabolite repression pathway in microsclerotia formation and pathogenesis of the smoke tree will fungus V. dahliae. We are going to elucidate the biological roles and function of key components of carbon catabolite repression in microsclerotia formation, growth and development, stress response and pathogenesis by using genetics, biochemistry and functional genomics methods. Especially, we will characterize Tps1 in details by systematically deleting Tps1 using homologous recombination mediated by PEG genetic transformation method and characterizes the biological function in microsclerotia formation and pathogenesis. Moreover, the transcriptome and differential expression profiles of genes regulated by important transcription factors associated with carbon catabolite repression will be established using RNA-Seq and Chip-Seq techniques. And then, the promoter sequences of genes regulated by key transcription factors are to be identified and compared, and numbers of important genes regulated by the transcription factor are to be disrupted and characterized as well. Finally, using omics technologies we will identify virulence factors controlled by carbon catabolite repression pathway and explore cross-talking with other known signaling pathways. The data will not only further shed light on elucidating molecular mechanism of microsclerotia formation, growth and development, stress response and pathogenesis in V. dahliae, elucidate metabolism network mechanism during microsclerotia formation and infection, help to find V. dahliae-specific novel fungicides targets, providing new insights and theoretic guide to design integrated control strategy and practice to Verticillium wilt of smoke-tree; but also suggest highly valuable references to control Verticillium wilt on other host plants.