Project description:The fungal pathogen Fusarium moniliforme causes ear rot in maize. Ear rot in maize is a destructive disease globally caused by Fusarium moniliforme , due to decrease of grain yield and increase of risks in raising livestock by mycotoxins production. Plants have developed various defense pathways to cope with pathogens. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression during the infection process of Fusarium moniliforme in its host plant to get insights into the defense programs and the host processes potentially involved in plant defense against this pathogen.
Project description:The fungal pathogen Fusarium moniliforme causes ear rot in maize. Ear rot in maize is a destructive disease globally caused by Fusarium moniliforme , due to decrease of grain yield and increase of risks in raising livestock by mycotoxins production. Plants have developed various defense pathways to cope with pathogens. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression during the infection process of Fusarium moniliforme in its host plant to get insights into the defense programs and the host processes potentially involved in plant defense against this pathogen. Experiment Overall Design: In two compared independent experiments plants were infected with the Fusarium moniliforme. Samples from infected bracts of resistant maize (Bt-1) as well as susceptible maize (Ye478) were taken at 4 days post infection. Samples from uninfected control plants were taken at the same time points. For example: R0 (control) and RT (treat) in Bt-1 and S0 (control) and ST (treat) in Ye478.
Project description:Fusarium graminearum can infect maize stalk causing Gibberella stalk rot. We want to know the whole genome wide gene profiling when infecting maize stalk.
Project description:Fusarium verticillioides is a detrimental fungus that can contaminate maize grains with mycotoxins that are harmful to human and animal health. Breeding and growing resistant genotypes is one alternative to reduce contamination and subsequent production of mycotoxins by this fungus. However, little is known about the resistant mechanism relevant to breeding in this pathosystem. Therefore, our aim was to identify genes and metabolites that may be related to Fusarium ear rot resistance using resistant and susceptible maize inbreds. Kernels of the resistant inbred showed significantly reduced disease severity, and reduced levels of total fumonisin and ergosterol content compared with the susceptible one. Gene expression data were obtained from microarray hybridizations using F. verticillioides inoculated and non inoculated maize kernels. Differentially expressed sequences were identified and classified into 36 functional categories. Most of the differentially expressed genes were assigned to the categories “protein, RNA, DNA, stress, transport, signaling and cell metabolism”. These genes encode for PR proteins, detoxification and primary metabolism enzymes. Fungal inoculation did not produce considerable changes in gene expression and metabolites in the resistant L4637 inbred, probably due to a preformed or constitutive resistance mechanism. Defense-related genes were induced or repressed in kernels of the susceptible inbred L4674, responding specifically to the pathogen infection. The qRT-PCR in infected silks showed that glucanase, lipid transfer, xylanase inhibitor, PR1 and 26S proteosome transcripts had higher expression ratios in the susceptible line compared to the resistant one in response to fungal infection. Through this study, a global view of differential genes expressed and metabolites concentration during resistance and susceptibility to F. verticillioides inoculation has been obtained, giving additional information about the mechanisms and pathways conferring resistance to this important disease in maize. Global view of differential genes expressed during resistance and susceptibility to F. verticillioides inoculation. Two maize inbred lines : one resistant (L4637) and one susceptible (L4674) to F. verticillioides infection. Two-condition experiment, Inoculated (I) vs. non-inoculated (NI) lines. Biological replicates: 3 . One replicate per array.
Project description:Fusarium graminearum can infect maize stalk causing Gibberella stalk rot. We want to know the whole genome wide gene profiling when infecting maize stalk. Using lasr capture microdisecction, we captured 8 time points infecting hyphae samples for maize stalk and after two-round amplification, we hybrid the aRNA to Affymetrix array.
Project description:This experiment is to assess the changes of maize genes expression in response to Fusarium graminearum stains wild-type PH-1 and Δcfem1 mutant. F. graminearum is the major casual fungal pathogen of Gibberella stalk rot on maize.
Project description:Identify genes underlying the Fusarium crown rot resistance locus and find out if expressed genes associated with resistance to Fusarium crown rot were related to those observed by others for Fusarium head blight.
Project description:Fusarium verticillioides is a detrimental fungus that can contaminate maize grains with mycotoxins that are harmful to human and animal health. Breeding and growing resistant genotypes is one alternative to reduce contamination and subsequent production of mycotoxins by this fungus. However, little is known about the resistant mechanism relevant to breeding in this pathosystem. Therefore, our aim was to identify genes and metabolites that may be related to Fusarium ear rot resistance using resistant and susceptible maize inbreds. Kernels of the resistant inbred showed significantly reduced disease severity, and reduced levels of total fumonisin and ergosterol content compared with the susceptible one. Gene expression data were obtained from microarray hybridizations using F. verticillioides inoculated and non inoculated maize kernels. Differentially expressed sequences were identified and classified into 36 functional categories. Most of the differentially expressed genes were assigned to the categories “protein, RNA, DNA, stress, transport, signaling and cell metabolism”. These genes encode for PR proteins, detoxification and primary metabolism enzymes. Fungal inoculation did not produce considerable changes in gene expression and metabolites in the resistant L4637 inbred, probably due to a preformed or constitutive resistance mechanism. Defense-related genes were induced or repressed in kernels of the susceptible inbred L4674, responding specifically to the pathogen infection. The qRT-PCR in infected silks showed that glucanase, lipid transfer, xylanase inhibitor, PR1 and 26S proteosome transcripts had higher expression ratios in the susceptible line compared to the resistant one in response to fungal infection. Through this study, a global view of differential genes expressed and metabolites concentration during resistance and susceptibility to F. verticillioides inoculation has been obtained, giving additional information about the mechanisms and pathways conferring resistance to this important disease in maize.
Project description:Across Canada, infections associated with Fusarium have a devastating impact on the agricultural sector. For example, Fusarium head blight (FHB) costs the Canadian grain industry over $1.5 billion annually in diminished export and domestic sales. For Ontario’s most productive and lucrative crops infection by Fusarium spp., leads to losses of over $200 million annually through yield reduction in corn (i.e., stalk and ear rot), cereals (i.e., FHB), and soybeans (i.e., root rot and sudden death syndrome). Additionally, mycotoxin production by Fusarium spp. (e.g., deoxynivalenol [DON]) has severe consequences for the livestock and poultry industries through consumption of contaminated feed, as well as concerns for human health upon consumption of contaminated processed grains. Current management strategies against FHB rely on fungicide application at heading, which reduces infection but does not limit the accumulation of dangerous mycotoxins within the grains. Moreover, such fungicide applications substantially increase the economic cost to growers, raise public concerns over chemical exposure, and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance. The critical role of Fusarium fungal pathogens and their toxins in the health of crops, livestock, and humans underscores the need for innovative strategies to better understand mechanisms of disease and identify novel management strategies to limit the incidence of infection and to critically, reduce the accumulation of mycotoxins within infected grains
Project description:Fusarium graminearum is a major pathogen of Fusarium head blight in wheat, barley, and rice, as well as ear rot and stalk rot in maize. Regulatory Factor X (RFX) transcription factors are well-conserved in animals and fungi, but their functions are diverse, ranging from DNA-damage response to ciliary gene regulation. We investigated the role of the sole RFX transcription factor, RFX1, in F. graminearum. Deletion of rfx1 resulted in multiple defects in hyphal growth, conidiation, virulence, and sexual development. Deletion mutants of rfx1 were more sensitive to various types of DNA damage than the wild-type strain. Septum formation was inhibited and micronuclei were produced in the rfx1 deletion mutants. The results of the neutral comet assay demonstrated that disruption of rfx1 function caused spontaneous DNA double-strand breaks. To understand regulatory mechanisms of rfx1 in F. graminearum, we obtained and analyzed genome-wide transcription profiles generated from the RNA-sequencing data of the wild-type and M-NM-^Trfx1 strains. RNA-sequencing-based transcriptomic analysis revealed that RFX1 suppressed the expression of many genes, including genes for the repair of DNA damage. 2 samples examined: mycelia harvested 24 h after inoculation of wild-type conidia in complete medium; mycelia harvested 32 h after inoculation of M-NM-^Trfx1 conidia in complete medium