Molecular mechanism and control of a fungal exocytosis pathway in the plant pathogens Ustilago maydis and Mycosphaerella graminicola

病原真菌是人类粮食安全的一大威胁。虽然真菌受到积极的害虫管理的控制，但它们迅速调整并产生抗药性。因此，需要对真菌特异性和致病性相关的细胞过程进行研究，以确定杀菌剂开发的新靶点。真菌通过在其细长细胞的末端扩张来侵入宿主组织。这个过程被称为‘尖端生长’，它涉及参与真菌细胞壁形成的酶的极地释放。我们最近报道了一种真菌特异性的肌球蛋白-甲壳素合成酶样蛋白(MCS1)在玉米黑粉菌顶端生长中起着关键作用。这种蛋白也在许多其他病原真菌中发现，在植物感染中也是必不可少的。在这个项目中，我们将与工业合作伙伴先正达有限公司合作，以确定控制这一重要Mcs1蛋白的调节器。我们将阐明一个迄今未知的Mcs1蛋白在小麦上小麦黑斑病的病原菌--小麦霉菌中的作用。小麦黑斑病是英国和欧洲最具破坏性的小麦病原菌。此外，我们将利用我们在美国的现有知识和分子工具来识别控制Mcs1功能的新因素。当综合考虑时，该项目有望提供对真菌特定途径的根本新见解，这对植物感染至关重要。这将提供有助于开发新杀菌剂的知识，因此对英国的农业生物技术行业具有很高的价值。

Pathogenic fungi are a major threat to human food security. While they are controlled by active pest management, fungi rapidly adjust and develop resistances. Thus, research on fungal specific and pathogenicity-relevant cellular processes is required to identify new targets for fungicide development. Fungi invade the host tissue by expanding at the end of their elongated cells. This process is named 'tip growth' and it involves the polar release of enzymes that participate in the formation of the fungal cell wall. We have recently reported that a particular fungal-specific myosin-chitin synthase-like protein (Mcs1) has a key role in tip growth in the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. This protein is also found in many other pathogenic fungi, where it also essential for plant infection. In this project we will join up with an industrial partner, Syngenta Ltd., to identify regulators that control this important Mcs1 protein. We will elucidate the role of a so far unknown Mcs1 protein in the fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola, the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch on wheat, which is the most devastating wheat pathogen in the UK and Europe. In addition, we will use our existing knowledge and molecular tools in U. maydis to identify new factors that control the function of Mcs1. When considered together the project promises to provide fundamental new insight into a fungal specific pathway, essential for plant infection. This will provide knowledge that will help to develop new fungicides and therefore is of high value to the agricultural biotechnology industry in the UK.