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

在农业和林业领域，化学农药和基因工程植物引起了公众的关注。一种解决办法是采用生物防治手段，在保护环境和食品安全的同时管理植物病害的爆发。这个项目为创造独特和更有效的加拿大生物农药提供了新的途径，这些农药是基于Sphaerodes mycoparasitica生物营养性支寄生虫的镰刀菌植物病原体及其真菌毒素，这是该实验室最近发现的一种新物种。尽管基于SSU和LSU rDNA的平行系统发育分析表明，一组真菌寄生的球形菌从非真菌祖先进化而来，但没有明确的证据表明已知的球形菌（子囊菌属，黑孢菌属）和它们的镰刀菌（子囊菌属，下孢子属）宿主之间存在共同进化或共种关系。在整个真菌致病过程中，需要澄清共积驱动因素以及真菌与真菌的相互作用。具体目标是了解i)通过评估镰刀菌疏水、细胞外和细胞内生物分子的作用来了解生物营养性支寄生虫的进化和特化；发现ii)支原体的致病相关基因和蛋白；并表征镰刀菌防御相关基因的表达，包括Tri和PKS基因。考虑到镰刀菌特异性Sphaerodes分类群的亲缘关系，探索镰刀菌毒素的性质是否在Sphaerodes内部产生了诱导专业化的进化压力将是一个有趣的问题。利用高通量分子、显微镜和蛋白质组学工具，结合培养依赖性和非培养依赖性试验，对镰刀菌物种的生物营养性支寄生虫进行检查，以评估它们对天然样品中镰刀菌病发展和霉菌毒素积累的影响。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维度：生物营养支寄生虫对抗植物病原体。

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.