Create your own conference schedule! Click here for full instructions

Abstract Detail



What can Next Generation Fungal Genome Sequencing do for you?

Bernier, Louis [1].

Genome-wide analysis of yeast/mycelium dimorphism in a non-model tree pathogen.

The ascomycete fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi is the highly aggressive pathogen responsible for the current pandemic of Dutch elm disease (DED) which has killed millions of elms worldwide. In spite of its economic and ecological impact, O. novo-ulmi is not considered a model species, even though this fungus is easily grown in the laboratory and amenable to standard genetic and molecular investigations. The nuclear genome of O. novo-ulmi and related species O. ulmi were recently sequenced and annotated, thus providing new opportunities for deciphering the complex basis of parasitic fitness in these pathogens. Comparative in silico analyses with genomes from other, well-characterized fungal and bacterial genomes have confirmed that the DED pathogens possess several hundred orthologs of genes encoding putative pathogenicity factors. We are also using molecular, genomic and transcriptomic approaches for studying yeast-mycelium dimorphism, a trait that the DED fungi share with several other pathogens of plants and mammals. This has resulted in the identification of nuclear genes controlling yeast- mycelium dimorphism and whose products may also regulate other traits including reproduction and pathogenicity. Time-course transcriptomic analyses are under way to characterize molecular events underlying the transition between the yeast and hyphal growth phases under controlled conditions. Results from ongoing analyses will indicate if yeast-mycelium transition in the DED pathogens follows the models proposed for other dimorphic fungi, and confirm whether this contributes to the high parasitic fitness of O. novo-ulmi.


Log in to add this item to your schedule

1 - Université Laval, Sciences du bois et de la forêt/CEF/IBIS, 1030 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V0A6, Canada

Keywords:
Fungi
genomics
transcriptomics
forest pathology.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY09
Location: Salon 3/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 8:45 AM
Number: SY09003
Abstract ID:653
Candidate for Awards:None


Copyright © 2000-2015, Botanical Society of America. All rights reserved