Plant Pathogen Temperature Ecology.

真菌和卵菌植物病原体威胁全球粮食安全。作物感染风险部分取决于温度和湿度的可用性，气候变化将改变作物及其病原体的分布。改变病原体分布的数学模型通常隐含地假设真菌在未来会像现在一样对温度做出反应，而不会对变化的条件进行进化。然而，现有的少量研究表明，真菌可以适应并迅速进化以抵御变暖。这个学生奖学金将结合联合收割机实验室实验和建模来研究各种生物尺度上的植物病原体温度生态学。关于植物病原体温度反应的变化，我们知道些什么？学生将对真菌和卵菌植物病原体温度反应进行详细的文献调查。温度反应将在整个生命周期阶段进行比较，学生将测试体外和在植物温度反应不同的假设。学生将统计调查温度耐受性，宿主特异性，地理学和真菌之间的进化关系之间的关系。在气候变化下，全球植物病原体感染风险将如何变化？学生将利用已发表的真菌和卵菌的感染温度反应来研究温度升高是否会在全球范围内改变感染风险。例如，变暖会导致疾病风险增加还是减少，如果是，在哪里？3.机械建模方法能否用于预测空间和时间上的三孢壳针孢斑点病（STB）风险？学生将开发一个STB的实验参数化机制模型，并将模型预测与观察到的疾病风险进行比较。三孢发酵壳孢对实验室培养温度的升高有何反应？学生将调查真菌培养物所经历的变化，评估真菌生物学的分子和形态学方面。在温度驯化和毒力之间是否存在权衡？进化理论预测了对不同类型压力的反应之间的权衡。例如，对高温做出反应的病原体可能不太能感染宿主植物。学生将测试已适应在较高温度下生长的真菌分离物是否保留对小麦的毒性。通过这个博士学位，学生将接受统计分析，生态和进化理论，疾病风险建模，植物病理学，微生物学和基本实验室技能的培训，以及为气候变化和全球粮食安全科学做出重要贡献。

Fungal and oomycete plant pathogens threaten global food security. Crop infection risk is determined in part by temperature and moisture availability, and climate change will alter distributions of both crops and their pathogens. Mathematical models of changing pathogen distributions often implicitly assume that fungi will respond to temperature in the future much as they do now, with no evolution to changing conditions. However, a small amount of existing research has shown that fungi can acclimatize and evolve rapidly to withstand warming. This studentship will combine laboratory experiments and modelling to investigate plant pathogen temperature ecology across various biological scales.1. What is known about variation in plant pathogen temperature responses? The student will conduct a detailed literature survey of fungal and oomycete plant pathogen temperature responses. Temperature responses will be compared across life cycle stages, and the student will test the hypothesis that in vitro and in planta temperature responses differ. The student will statistically investigate the relationships between temperature tolerance, host specificity, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships among fungi.2. How will plant pathogen infection risk alter globally under climate change? The student will utilise published infection temperature responses for fungi and oomycetes to investigate whether increasing temperatures will shift infection risk at the global scale. For example, will warming result in increased or decreased disease risk, and if so, where? 3. Can a mechanistic modelling approach be utilised to predict Septoria tritici Blotch (STB) disease risk in space and time? The student will develop an experimentally-parametrised mechanistic model of STB and compare model predictions to observed disease risk.4. How does Zymoseptoria tritici respond to increasing culture temperatures in the lab? The student will investigate the changes undergone by fungal cultures, assessing molecular and morphological aspects of fungal biology.5. Is there a trade-off between temperature acclimation and virulence? Evolutionary theory predicts a trade-off between responses to different types of stress. For example, a pathogen responding to high temperature might be less able to infect the host plant. The student will test whether fungal isolates that have been acclimated to grow at higher temperatures retain virulence on wheat.Through this doctorate the student will receive training in statistical analysis, ecological and evolutionary theory, disease risk modelling, plant pathology, microbiology and fundamental lab skills, as well has making an important contribution to the science of climate change and global food security.