Discovering the molecular and proteomic interactions between genus-specific mycoparasites and fungal plant-pathogens

在农业和林业方面，化学杀虫剂和转基因植物引起了公众的关注。一个解决办法是采用生物控制手段来管理植物病害的爆发，同时保护环境和食品安全。该计划提供了新的途径，创造独特的和更有效的，加拿大生物农药对镰刀菌植物病原体及其真菌毒素的基础上Sphaerodes mycoparasitica生物营养mycoparasitica-一个新的物种最近发现的这个实验室。虽然基于SSU和LSU rDNA的平行系统发育分析显示一组真菌寄生球壳菌属物种从非真菌寄生祖先进化，但没有明确的证据表明已知球壳菌属（子囊菌纲，黑孢菌目）和它们的镰刀菌属（子囊菌纲，肉座菌目）宿主之间存在共同进化或共同物种形成。在真菌致病过程中的卷积驱动因子以及真菌-真菌相互作用需要澄清。具体目标是理解i）通过评估镰刀菌属疏水性、细胞外和细胞内生物分子的作用来了解活体营养型真菌寄生虫的进化和特化;发现ii）真菌寄生虫的发病相关基因和蛋白质;以及表征镰刀菌属防御相关基因表达，包括Tri和PKS基因。考虑到镰刀菌属特有的Sphaerodes类群的相关性，探索镰刀菌毒素的性质是否会在Sphaerodes内产生诱导专业化的进化压力将是有趣的。使用高通量分子，显微镜和蛋白质组学工具与文化依赖性和文化无关的测定，镰刀菌属物种的活体营养真菌寄生虫将被检查，以评估其对镰刀菌疾病的发展和真菌毒素积累的影响在自然样品。在概述的计划中存在许多高素质人员的培训机会。该计划为加拿大生物防治科学提供了一个新的层面：针对植物病原体的生物营养型真菌寄生虫。

In agriculture and forestry, chemical pesticides and genetically engineered plants incite public concerns. A solution is the introduction of biological control means to manage outbreaks of plant diseases while protecting the environment and food safety. This program offers new avenues for the creation of unique and more efficacious, Canadian biopesticides against Fusarium plant pathogens and its mycotoxins based on Sphaerodes mycoparasitica biotrophic mycoparasite -a novel species recently discovered by this laboratory. Although parallel phylogenetic analyses based on SSU and LSU rDNA show evolution of a group of mycoparasitic Sphaerodes species from non-mycoparasitic ancestors, no clear evidence of coevolution, or cospeciation between known Sphaerodes (Ascomycetes, Melanosporales) and their Fusarium (Ascomycetes, Hypocreales) hosts has been described. The covolution driving factor(s) as well as fungus-fungus interaction throughout the mycopathogenic processes demand clarification. Specific goals are to understand i) the evolution and specialization of the biotrophic mycoparasite by assessing the role of Fusarium hydrophobic, extra- and intracellular biomolecules; to discover ii) the pathogenesis-related genes and proteins of the mycoparasite; and to characterize Fusarium defense-related gene expressions, including Tri and PKS genes. Considering the relatedness of Fusarium-specific Sphaerodes taxa, it would be interesting to explore whether the nature of fusaria toxins creates an evolutionary pressure inducing specialization within Sphaerodes. Using high-throughput molecular, microscopic, and proteomic tools with culture dependent and culture-independent assays, biotrophic mycoparasites of Fusarium species will be examined to assess their impact on Fusarium disease development and mycotoxin accumulation in natural samples. Numerous training opportunities for highly qualified personnel exist within the outlined program. The program offers a new dimension for the Canadian biocontrol science: biotrophic mycoparasites against plant pathogens.