Project description:Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mold and noble rot, is a phytopathogenic fungus with a scientific and economic relevance due to its effects in agriculture. This fungus employs various molecular tools, such as enzymes and secondary metabolites, to infect and colonize plant tissues. Pathogenicity and virulence factors are identified, highlighting their role in the infectious cycle. Our approach presents the description of a new infection mechanism in the phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea, based on the production of bioactive peptides. Those peptides were isolated from cultures with glucose (constitutive stage) and tomato (virulence inductor), and showed significant effects on virulence, suggesting a crucial function in the fungus-plant interaction. Biochemical and genetic analysis methods were employed to determine the expression of genes involved in peptide production, highlighting the potential for de novo peptide synthesis and degradation of parental proteins. The results indicate that B. cinerea has significant biotechnological potential, as it can generate peptides of interest for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. This work is pioneering in describing the peptidome of a phytopathogenic fungus and suggests new strategies for controlling microbial infections.
Project description:In this study, we showed that three bacteria were able to inhibit the mycelial growth of the phytopathogenic fungus Thielaviopsis ethacetica, by the emission of microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Aiming to understand the molecular mechanisms of these interactions, we evaluated the transcriptomic response of T. ethacetica to the mVOCs produced by one of these bacterial isolates.
Project description:Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a broad-host range necrotrophic pathogen which is the causative agent of Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), and a major disease of soybean (Glycine max). A time course transcriptomic analysis was performed in both compatible and incompatible soybean lines to identify pathogenicity and developmental factors utilized by S. sclerotiorum to achieve pathogenic success.
