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Plant Pathology

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

2009

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Oxygenase Coordination Is Required For Morphological Transition And The Host-Fungus Interaction Of Aspergillus Flavus, Sigal Horowitz Brown, James B. Scott, Jeyanthi Bhaheetharan, William C. Sharpee, Lane Milde, Richard A. Wilson Jan 2009

Oxygenase Coordination Is Required For Morphological Transition And The Host-Fungus Interaction Of Aspergillus Flavus, Sigal Horowitz Brown, James B. Scott, Jeyanthi Bhaheetharan, William C. Sharpee, Lane Milde, Richard A. Wilson

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Oxylipins, a class of oxygenase-derived unsaturated fatty acids, are important signal molecules in many biological systems. Recent characterization of an Aspergillus flavus lipoxygenase gene, lox, revealed its importance in maintaining a density-dependent morphology switch from sclerotia to conidia as population density increased. Here, we present evidence for the involvement of four more oxylipingenerating dioxygenases (PpoA, PpoB, PpoC, and PpoD) in A. flavus density-dependent phenomena and the effects of loss of these genes on aflatoxin production and seed colonization. Although several single mutants showed alterations in the sclerotia-to-conidia switch, the major effect was observed in a strain downregulated for all …


Under Pressure: Investigating The Biology Of Plant Infection By Magnaporthe Oryza, Nicholas J. Talbot, Richard A. Wilson Jan 2009

Under Pressure: Investigating The Biology Of Plant Infection By Magnaporthe Oryza, Nicholas J. Talbot, Richard A. Wilson

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

The filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae causes rice blast, the most serious disease of cultivated rice. Cellular differentiation of M. oryzae forms an infection structure called the appressorium, which generates enormous cellular turgor that is sufficient to rupture the plant cuticle. Here, we show how functional genomics approaches are providing new insight into the genetic control of plant infection by M. oryzae. We also look ahead to the key questions that need to be addressed to provide a better understanding of the molecular processes that lead to plant disease and the prospects for sustainable control of rice blast.


Fungal Physiology: A Future Perspective, Richard A. Wilson, Nicholas J. Talbot Jan 2009

Fungal Physiology: A Future Perspective, Richard A. Wilson, Nicholas J. Talbot

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

The study of fungal physiology is set to change dramatically in the next few years as highly scalable technologies are deployed allowing accurate measurement and identification of metabolites, proteins and transcripts within cells. The advent of next-generation DNA-sequencing technologies will also provide genome sequence information from large numbers of industrially relevant and pathogenic fungal species, and allow comparative genome analysis between strains and populations of fungi. When coupled with advances in gene functional analysis, protein-protein interaction studies, live cell imaging and mathematical modelling, this promises a step-change in our understanding of how fungal cells operate as integrated dynamic living systems