Molecular Systematics of the Non-pedicellate Rust Fungi

所谓的铁锈是一组重要的强制性 寄生植物病原真菌 小麦锈病可能是 最出名的是它们对农作物产量的严重影响。 尽管寄主植物特异性是锈菌的一个标志， 是已知的进化模式的主机跟踪和主机 转移 这种缺乏了解是由我们的基本知识造成的。 知识的进化关系，或同源性， 锈菌，无论是在锈菌物种和属，并与相关 担子菌 加州大学的托马斯布伦斯博士- 伯克利将使用分子基因组技术来研究 在几个分类学水平上的进化关系， 锈菌 在最广泛的水平上， 核糖体基因将被分析，突变差异将被 比较了锈菌的主要类群及其假定的真菌 亲戚 在较低的分类学水平上，进化关系 在两个属的物种中，Cronartium和Melampsora， 松树上的重要病原体将通过DNA进行调查 测序方法 锈菌之间的关系模式 将与松树物种之间的关系模式进行比较 以检测寄主发生转移的谱系。 结果 从这项工作中可以更好地了解主机 跟踪和主机转移专性植物病原体，并将 还开发所需的数据库和方法， 快速鉴定两个所选属内的物种。

The so-called rusts are an important group of obligately parasitic plant pathogenic fungi. Wheat rusts are probably the best known because of their serious effects on crop yields. Although host plant specificity is a hallmark of the rusts, little is known about the evolutionary patterns of host tracking and host shifting. This lack of understanding is caused by our rudimentary knowledge of the evolutionary relationships, or phylogeny, of the rusts, both among the rust species and genera and with related basidiomycetes. Dr. Thomas Bruns of the University of California- Berkeley will use molecular genomic techniques to investigate evolutionary relationships at several taxonomic levels among the rust fungi. At the broadest level, DNA nucleotide sequences of the ribosomal genes will be analyzed and mutational differences will be compared among the major groups of rusts and their putative fungal relatives. At lower taxonomic levels, evolutionary relationships among species of two genera, Cronartium and Melampsora, that are important pathogens on pine trees will be investigated by DNA sequencing methods. Patterns of relationship among the rust fungi will be compared with patterns of relationship among pine species to detect lineages where hostplant shifts have occurred. Results from this work should provide a better understanding of host tracking and host shifting in obligate plant pathogens, and will also develop the database and methodology needed to facilitate rapid identification of species within the two selected genera.