Investigate the role of small RNAs of a necrotrophic fungal pathogen B. cinerea in suppressing host Immunity

灰霉病菌是一种成功的真菌病原体，可感染200多种植物。到目前为止，还没有发现对灰芽孢杆菌有抗药性的宿主。葡萄孢菌使用相当复杂的策略来感染寄主植物；然而，其成功的分子机制尚不清楚。小RNA （sRNA）介导的RNA干扰（RNAi）是一种保守的基因沉默机制，它以序列特异性的方式抑制基因表达。RNAi在病原真菌中的研究尚不充分，而sRNAs在宿主发病机制中的作用也未在真菌病原体中得到探讨。基于初步数据，研究者假设一些Botrytis sRNAs被传递到宿主细胞中，并作为一类新的毒力效应物，通过劫持宿主RNAi机制来抑制宿主免疫反应。本项目旨在从受感染的拟南芥（一种模式植物）和番茄中鉴定和功能表征这些葡萄球菌衍生的sRNAs，这些sRNAs可能潜在地靶向宿主基因，这些基因在免疫中具有假定的功能。宿主靶基因在宿主防御反应中的作用也将被研究。这个项目将揭示病原体成功抑制宿主免疫的新策略。这个项目的成果将是真正具有变革性的，并将阐明毒性真菌病原体致病性的分子机制。这一根本性的发现将为寄主-病原菌相互作用领域和作物病害管理开辟新的前景。本项目将为本科生、研究生和博士后提供跨学科的培训机会。作为一名女性教师，调查人员将为少数族裔高中女性学生提供指导。这些学生将在她的实验室接受植物分子生物学的暑期培训。研究者试图激发学生对农业和植物科学的兴趣，并最终帮助向UCR和其他学院输送高质量的学生。

Botrytis cinerea is a successful fungal pathogen that can infect more than 200 plant species. So far, no host resistance to B. cinerea has been identified. Botrytis uses rather sophisticated strategies to infect host plants; however, the molecular mechanisms of its success are not well understood. Small RNA (sRNA)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi), is a conserved gene silencing mechanism that suppresses gene expression in a sequence specific manner. RNAi has not been well studied in pathogenic fungi, and the roles of sRNAs in host pathogenesis have not been explored in fungal pathogens. Based on the preliminary data, the investigator has hypothesized that some Botrytis sRNAs are delivered into host cells and function as a novel class of virulence effectors to suppress host immune responses by hijacking host RNAi machinery. This project aims to identify and functionally characterize these Botrytis-derived sRNAs from infected Arabidopsis (a model plant) and tomato, which can potentially target host genes with putative function in immunity. The role of the host target genes in host defense responses will also be examined. This project would reveal a novel strategy that successful pathogens employ to suppress host immunity. The output of this project would be truly transformative and would shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenicity of virulent fungal pathogens. Such a fundamental discovery would promise to open new perspectives in the pathogen-host interaction field and crop disease management.This project will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. As a female faculty, the investigator will serve as a mentor to female underrepresented minority high school students. These students will receive summer training in plant molecular biology in her lab. The investigator seeks to stimulate student interest in agriculture and plant sciences and ultimately help deliver high quality students to UCR and other colleges.